Alter ego
by AiraChica
Summary: Most people would argue that Arnold is a saint of nature. Lady Luck is not always on his side though and one day, while playing baseball, he hits the ball so hard it flies through the window to Madame Blanche's store. The gypsy does not take it lightly and puts a curse on him. Soon he starts acting weird around his peers; especially around a certain blonde girl.
1. I can hear a little voice inside my head

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned in this story.**

**They all belong to their rightful owner: Craig Bartlett.**

**Title: "Alter ego"**

**Summary:**_** Most people would argue that Arnold is a saint of nature. Lady Luck is not always on his side though and one day, while playing baseball, he hits the ball so hard it flies through the window to Madam Blanche's store. The gypsy does not take it lightly and puts a curse on him. Soon he starts acting weird around his peers; especially around a certain blonde girl.**_

**Author's 1st note: Boy, oh, boy, have I been looking forward to start this project! Now, it's not going to be a long story. It's also going to be much different than my other stories. First of all, YOU get to suggest ideas to what could happen in this story. Same subject, of course, but you might get to give me ideas about one or a couple of chapters. So, by all means, send me suggestions to what can happen in this story! (Of course following the theme of the story and not shoving random things in there.) I can't promise to do all, but don't be shy in asking :3**

**Also, in case it's not obvious to everyone, the title of this FanFiction is inspired by the song "Alter ego" by Clique Girls. I recommend listening to it ;)**

**[Please notify me if you notice any grammar mistakes. This isn't my first language, so there's bound to be mistakes.]**

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><p><span>Chapter 1: "I can hear a little voice inside my head"<span>

"Uh-oh. Arnold's up to bat! Everyone, get your helmets on!" Helga said and moved her own helmet down to cover her face. Arnold sighed as he watched his peers look at him in slight fear, all except for his best friend Gerald who tried to give him an encouraging smile, but even that seemed a little shaky. "Helga, I think I've outgrown my dangerous lumber by now." Arnold insisted before grabbing the bat in front of her. "We ain't taking no chances, Arnold-o! You've beaned us all too many times for us to forget and, speaking of which, yours truly did in fact get _amnesia_ one time when you beaned her! Remember?" she asked and he frowned at her. "It's hard to forget when you keep reminding me." He muttered before getting in position.

Harold, who was standing in the middle of the field with the ball in his hands, considered mocking Arnold as he usually did, but considering how their former baseball plays had ended up, he thought against it. "Just don't cream me like last time, Arnold!" he warned and Arnold nodded though he knew he couldn't make any promises. Especially not since they weren't at their usual spot. The borders at Sunset Arms had requested having the field alone today so all the tenth graders were forced to play baseball in the middle of the street. "Just throw the ball, pig boy!" Helga shouted. "Madam Fortress Mommy…" Harold grunted at her command, but did prepare to throw the ball.

Arnold tightened his grip on the bat and moved it slowly in order not to give the ball enough power to hurt anyone. Once the ball made contact with his bat though, Arnold felt the vibrations in his fingers when the ball bounced off. He barely managed to think _uh-oh_ before he heard the unmistakable sound of glass shattering. "Crap! Arnold, you've really done it this time!" Sid declared once he had turned around and seen the broken window behind him.

Arnold gulped. "Whose shop is that?" he asked fearfully. Helga moved beside him and tried to make out the broken words on the glazing. "That's Madame Blanche's shop!" she gasped, but her classmates only stared at her dumbfounded. "Who?" Rhonda asked. Helga considered giving a long explanation about how Madame Blanche was a gypsy who could do both voodoo and hoodoo and things she ain't even tried, but she never got the chance before the woman herself appeared outside her shop.

Madame Blanche had frizzy, black hair that framed her whole face. She was wearing a lilac shirt with puff sleeves and red, blue and yellow beads sewn around the sleeves and under her chest. A long yellow skirt covered her legs, red and green beads thrown around her hips like a loose belt. She was also wearing golden jewelry in her ears, around her neck and on her fingers. Her skin was the color of mocha and the mouth, that was just about to yell, was Devil red.

"Which one of you brats did this?!" she asked and no one hesitated to point at Arnold, who gulped once more. "I-I'm really sorry, ma'am. I-I'll help you clean up and I'll pay - - "

Arnold never got to finish his apology before Madame Blanche had reached him and was now holding him by his collar. "No need for that, young man. I have my own way of dealing with things like this." she said and leaned her mouth close to his ear. The teenagers all watched with fear and fascination as the woman muttered some incomprehensible words in his ear. For a moment, a mere second, Arnold's green eyes shined like emeralds only to go back to their natural shade. Madame Blanche abruptly let go of his shirt and he fell to the ground with a thud. She shot him a satisfied glare and then turned on her heel to go back inside her store.

The teenagers instantly ran to Arnold, all sprouting words of concern and confusion for Arnold, but his eyes seemed far off in the distant, his pupils oddly dilated. "Wake up, Football Head!" Helga ordered in annoyance, successfully hiding her concern for him. When he didn't react, she crouched and snapped her fingers in front of him. He shook his head and started blinking, his pupils going smaller with each blink that he made. "Wha…?" he muttered and looked at Helga with eyes that were still a little brighter than usual, but not so bright anyone could see it with the bare eye.

"You ok, man?" Gerald asked who was standing next to Arnold. "I, uh… guess so." He replied. "I reckon you just dodged a bullet, Arnold. All, that woman did was scold you and then leave like nothing had happened." Stinky said. "Yeah…" Arnold murmured and looked at Helga who had just un-crouched. "Well, since I doubt Madame Witch is willing to give us our ball back, the game is over. I'm heading home." She announced and was about to leave when Arnold grabbed her leg. "Mind helping me up?" he asked and she looked at him in incredulity. "Why me? Ask Tall Hair Boy!"

Helga had expected Arnold to let go of her, but he didn't. "Oh, just help me up, Helga!" he barked, causing everyone around him to gawk in surprise. Helga stared at him for a moment, wondering if the boy had hit his head since he was stupid enough to argue against the girl with the iron fists, but then she rolled her eyes and offered him her hand.

"You could have thrown a 'please' in there." She pointed out sarcastically as she hoisted him up. Once he was standing, rather than letting go of her hand like most people would have, he stepped closer to her. "_Please_." He whispered with a somewhat sultry tone in his voice that sounded more than a little bit out of character.

Helga could have sworn that her heart stopped beating as Arnold's eyes seemed to be all she could see right then. He let go of her hand and walked towards his bike. "You coming, Gerald?" he asked and the dark boy followed him. While her classmates scattered to find their bikes, and the few lucky ones, their cars, Helga approached Phoebe. "I think Arnold must have hit his head; he actually had the balls to talk back at me!" she hissed in shock and stuck her tongue out at Arnold when he drove by on his bike. He just ignored her like she had expected and yet, it surprised her due to what had happened just before.

"Oh, I'm sure you're just reading too much into it, Helga. Arnold was probably just frightened after what happened with Madame Blanche." Phoebe insisted, but that just made Helga shake her head. "That's another thing. Madame Blanche is a woman who wouldn't ever let something like what Arnold did go un-punished, even if he did apologize too many times to count."

"Perhaps she was in a good mood this afternoon?"

"Phoebe. The woman's eyes were practically shooting daggers at Arnold. If she had been in a good mood then that was over as soon as that ball came flying through her window." Helga retorted and started walking towards her bike. _I knew I should have taken Bob's car instead._ She thought as she unlocked her bike.

"Well, he got out of it without any broken bones or a check on his hands. Perhaps he is just lucky per usual?" Phoebe suggested as she unlocked her own bike and mounted it. "Yeah." Helga said and mounted her own bike. "Happy, go-lucky Football Head."

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><p>Once Arnold and Gerald had locked their bikes outside Sunset Arms, they walked inside in hope of finding a quick snack before dinner. "Hi there, Shortman." Arnold's grandpa greeted, looking at them over his newspaper. "Hi, grandpa." Arnold replied. "Hey, Phil!" Gerald chimed in and clicked with his tongue as he shaped his hand into a gun. Phil copied the gesture, although he was unsure what it meant and went back to his newspaper. The boys snickered as they walked into the kitchen.<p>

"Anything interesting happening in your world today, Arnold?" Phil asked from the living room. Gerald looked questioningly at Arnold who shrugged as he opened one of the cabinets. "Oh, the usual." Arnold answered before Gerald smirked. "Yeah, playing baseball, getting cursed, fighting with Helga. Nothing new." Gerald continued, noticing the smirk on Arnold's face when he mentioned Helga's name.

Phil hummed, indicating that he had heard them without listening. The boys smiled and started counting together. "Three, two, one..." they whispered in unison before they could hear the sound of Phil yelling and crumbling his newspaper before throwing it to the floor. "_Cursed_?! Oh, no, Arnold. Are you going to die? Who cursed you?! Pookie, get me my rifle!" he yelled before storming into the kitchen where the boys were. Gertie's voice could be heard upstairs. "No can do! I'm using it!"

"For what?"

"I am still haunting the mischievous butterfly that landed on your raspberry pudding this morning!"

"Ow, my stomach..." Phil grunted at the reminder, but then frowned. "Wait! Pookie - - " he shouted, but his words were drowned by the sound of a gunshot. They all covered their ears in shock and Arnold dropped the bag of cookies on the floor in the process. It was quiet for a long moment before Gertie's voice roared from upstairs. "I didn't get it!" she declared, but rather than another gunshot, the sound of Gertie simply throwing the rifle to the ground and her cursing it for having a bad aim echoed from upstairs.

Phil and Arnold sighed, while Gerald simply blinked in confusion. "Maybe you should lock that rifle in a cage and throw the key away?" Gerald suggested and grabbed the bag of cookies. "We did." Arnold and Phil replied in unison, causing Gerald to almost drop the cookies again.

"So, Shortman, what was that about a curse?" Phil asked, much calmer this time around. "Nothing." Arnold replied, grabbed the cookies from Gerald and took a bowl from inside a different cabinet. "We were playing baseball and I accidentally hit the window into Madame Blanche's shop and she - - " Arnold continued, but gasped when he heard his grandpa do so. "_Madame Blanche_?" he repeated with horror dripping in his already slightly shaky voice due to his age. "You didn't…? To Madame Blanche…? Arnold, that woman is wicked!" he continued with his eyes bulging out of his eye sockets. The two teenagers looked at each other quizzically, but also a little frightened.

"That woman is said to have always lived in Hillwood." Phil continued and put his arm over his nose and mouth for effect and moved around with his back hunched over. "She has been here for many years, far longer than any of us has even lived. Our town was originally an ordinary forest many, many years ago and even then, Madame Blanche lived here. She swore revenge on every citizen that would ever cross her path. My best friend from my childhood, Jimmy Kafka and I also used to play baseball and one day, in front of her store, we accidentally broke her window, _just_ like you did today, Arnold… and guess what?" Phil asked and got so close to Arnold that their noses were touching. "I never saw him again!"

Arnold could hear Gerald gulp nervously next to him before he wrapped his arms around him. "I don't wanna lose my best friend!" he whined dramatically and Arnold smiled for a moment. "You won't. Grandpa, that story can't possibly be true." He said and Gerald let go of him to shoot him a questioning glare. "Oh, and why not?" Phil asked and crossed his arms defensively.

Arnold copied his action. "Because I've _met_ Jimmy Kafka and he is alive and well even to this day." He answered. Phil watched him for a moment before closing in on him. Arnold didn't falter though and Phil blew a raspberry at him. "You're no fun anymore, Shortman! You're getting old and boring." He declared and waved his hands in dismissal, causing Arnold to smirk in triumph.

"But I would still watch my back if I were you, Arnold. That woman is bad news." Phil insisted and walked out of the kitchen. "If everyone in this town thinks the way you do, Grandpa, then it's possible she's just a lonely woman." Arnold insisted and turned to grab the cookies from the counter. Phil didn't reply from inside the living room and when the boys walked through the room, they noticed that he was already deeply emerged into his newspaper back at the very first page. Arnold shook his head at the image and smiled at Gerald who shrugged.

"You not nervous at all, Arnold? Your grandpa may be a bit of an old coot, but what if Madame Blanche really does know voodoo or black magic or whatever?" Gerald asked before sticking his hand into the cookie bag. Arnold shook his head while they walked up the stairs. "I don't believe in superstition, Gerald. Don't you remember back in fourth grade when Wolfgang and Edmund challenged us to do a bunch of things that's supposed to give people bad luck?"

"Yeah, and if I remember correctly too, we did actually go to Madame Blanche's shop to get a good-luck kit."

"But Wolfgang and Edmund were behind all of our bad luck, so we didn't need that good-luck kit to begin with. I didn't believe in superstition back then and I don't do now either. There's no way Madame Blanche put an actual curse on me."

"You say that, but if you think about it, doesn't Madame Blanche look _exactly_ the same since seven years ago? She hasn't aged a goddamn bit!"

"Women age like fine wine, Gerald." Arnold retorted with a smirk and Gerald scowled at him. "That's a line you learned from _me_!"

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><p>The next day at school, Arnold still couldn't feel anything special since Madame Blanche had supposedly put a curse on him. He had never believe something would happen, but Gerald still seemed nervous around him. Even after fourth grade of having been shown that bad luck didn't exist, he still wasn't sure if other stuff didn't exist; like Madame Blanche's curse. "You sure you're not feeling <em>anything<em>?" Gerald asked as he and Arnold grabbed their trays from the lunch lady.

Arnold sighed. _That's the seventeenth time he's asked me today._ He thought and shook his head. "I feel the same as always, Gerald. My apologies." He replied sarcastically and Gerald sighed. "I guess voodoo really doesn't exist then." He muttered and Arnold shot him a questioning look. "You sound disappointed?" he asked and Gerald moved his head unsurely from side to side. "I'm not sure, but if voodoo had been real, I would have asked Madame Blanche to make me her apprentice!"

The two boys started laughing, not at all watching where they were going. Before Arnold could turn his eyes back to where he was walking, he crashed into someone. With a yell, he landed on the floor, his tray slipping out of his hands as he managed to land on something softer than the floor. He heard a female voice grunt in pain and he opened his eyes. Beneath him, with her back against the floor and her clothes filled with all sorts of food, was Helga Pataki. Panic instantly started flooding inside Arnold and he sat up on his knees quickly. "Helga, I'm so sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going." He explained and she sat up, rubbing the back of her head. "Are you hurt?"

"Yes, that fucking hurt, Football Head! Watch where you're going! You always crash into me!" Helga yelled, twitching her face in pain as her fingers found the bump on the back of her head. Guilt overtook Arnold's face. "L-Let me see." He requested and twisted his body around her to look at her head, but she instantly turned away from him.

"Just stay away from me, will you?! You've got bad luck written all over you." Helga said before attempting to stand up, but slipping in some food and landing on Arnold's chest instead, causing him to be the one to crash against the floor. They both hissed in pain, barely noticing the snickers around them from their peers watching them.

When Arnold opened his eyes again, Helga didn't notice the change of shade in them. She shook her head and started scowling at him. She opened her mouth to speak, but Arnold beat her to it. "Clumsy, aren't we?" he asked sarcastically, an uncharacteristic smirk starting to spread on his face. Helga would usually have questioned him talking back at her, like she had done yesterday, but she was already so angry and embarrassed that she hardly noticed how out of character he truly was.

"_Me_?!" she repeated in disbelief. "You're the one who crashed into me, Arnold-o!" she pointed out and tried to stand up, but her knee slipped and she fell right back in Arnold's embrace, earning a few laughs from her peers.

"Like I said…" Arnold said and wrapped his arms around Helga's waist. She made a small, choked gasp in surprise when he turned them around so that he was on top of her instead. She had shut her eyes, expecting to feel the floor slamming against the back of her head, but Arnold's hand had cushioned her. "_Clumsy_." He stated and she opened her eyes, staring at him in disbelief.

Arnold managed to get himself standing up with ease, leaving Helga on the floor alone for a moment before offering her his hand. She shot him a slanted look. "I don't want your help!" she insisted and tried to get up, but her feet slipped almost instantly and she automatically grabbed his hand. "It looks like you need it though." Arnold pointed out and pulled Helga up in one swift motion, shooting her a smug smile, she wasn't sure how to respond to.

She whipped her hand out of his grasp, scowling at him before looking down at herself. "Criminy, I look like I've been in a food fight!" she stated before scowling at Arnold again. "I'm not sure what's wrong with you today, Shortman, but I swear I will - - "

"You'll what?" Arnold interrupted and leaned closer to Helga, so close that all she could see was his emerald eyes. She hesitated for a moment, the scowl disappearing from her face, but then it quickly returned. "I'll get you back for this." She replied and turned around. "Phoebe, help me clean up!" she ordered and the short Asian girl instantly followed her. "Cleaning." She said and waved some noodles out of Helga's hair as they walked out of the cafeteria.

Arnold snickered at the display before he felt a hand on his shoulder. "What the hell was that?" Gerald asked and Arnold to look at him, a look of pure confusion on his face as he blinked. "What was what?" he asked. Gerald frowned at him. "You know, if you start spontaneously flirting with Helga like that, she's going to notice that you, um… _you know_." He whispered secretively, his eyes quickly scanning the room to make sure that no one was listening.

Arnold blinked in shock. "Flirting? I fell on top of her by accident, Gerald. It wasn't on purpose." He said and turned his eyes towards the floor. "Oh, I better get a mop." He said and turned around to head towards the janitor's closet, leaving a dumbfounded Gerald in the cafeteria.

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><p>"What is <em>wrong<em> with him?!" Helga shouted in the hallway as Phoebe walked in front of her and opened the door into the girls' restroom. "I am sure it was an honest mistake, Helga. Arnold would never crash into you like that on purpose." Phoebe insisted before following Helga into the restroom.

"I'm not talking about that, Phoebe! Arnold and I crashing into each other is nothing new. I'm talking about his goddamn attitude afterwards!" she retorted and looked at herself in the mirror, changing her voice into a much deeper one. "_Clumsy, aren't we_? _It looks like you need it_. _You'll what_? What was that?!"

"Perhaps Arnold is feeling more rebellious lately. We are after all in an age where we start to wish to rebel against those with a higher status. Arnold does not have any parents to rebel against, so perhaps you're the only higher status he has?"

"What about his grandparents?"

"His grandparents cannot keep focus on one thing long enough to notice a change in Arnold's nature." Phoebe responded, wetting her handkerchief and starting to rub it on some spots on Helga's clothes. "Arnold is not the rebellious type, even at the age of sixteen. It's too weird." Helga muttered and wiped some tapioca pudding off her jeans. "Also, I could have sworn he was looking at me funny."

"What kind of funny?"

"Like the way Gerald looks at _you_." Helga teased and snickered when she saw the evident blush spread on Phoebe's face. "H-Helga!" she stuttered in embarrassment. "I'm just teasing you, Phoebs, but Gerald really should make a move already. If he keeps waiting around for you, you two will get nowhere." Helga said thoughtfully, watching the blush grow deeper on Phoebe's face. "I-I am quite satisfied with how things are now." She insisted.

Helga rolled her eyes. "Satisfied with what? Stolen glances in the hallways and a casual chat every now and then? How is that at all satisfactory?" she asked and Phoebe frowned. "I don't see you and Arnold strolling around hand-in-hand." She muttered and Helga choked in surprise. Phoebe gasped and looked up at her blonde friend. "I-I'm sorry."

"No, it's ok. You're right. I've been in love with Arnold for how many years and I haven't done anything about it."

"You did tell him your feelings once though. That's more than I have…"

"And then I took them back, pretending it was in the heat of the moment! And Arnold let me… That's more than enough answer." Helga insisted, looking at her reflection. Phoebe squeezed her hand. "Helga…" she whispered soothingly and Helga smiled at her halfheartedly.

"I'm ok. It just pisses me off that even though I know he'll never love me back, I continue to love him. Why can't I just forget him? I've tried everything! I got rid of all the poems, the statues I made of him, the god-awful shrine! I threw everything out except - - " Helga ranted, but stopped herself, her hand automatically going to her chest, touching the golden heart-shaped locket hidden beneath her clothes. "This… stupid thing…" she muttered and squeezed the locket in her hand.

"It's not stupid, Helga." Phoebe insisted. "It's creepy, is what it is. I was a messed up kid." Helga retorted and pulled the locked out of her blouse to look at it. "No, you weren't. You were passionate and a bit… eccentric. Like Gertrude." Phoebe insisted and Helga shot her a dirty glare. "You're comparing me to the grandma of the boy I am in love with?" she questioned.

Phoebe bit on her lip. "That was perhaps not the wisest way of putting it, but I am just trying to show you that Arnold is already used to eccentric people around him. Perhaps he wouldn't find you weird at all if you just gave him the chance?" she suggested. Helga shook her head though and threw the paper towel in her hand into the trashcan. "No way." She replied and walked past Phoebe. "I'm going home, Phoebs. I'm not… feeling well."

"Want me to follow you home?"

"And be responsible for messing with your perfect attendance? Hell no. See you tomorrow, Phoebe." Helga said and waved at the Asian girl who waved back with an encouraging smile. Helga sighed as soon as she had closed the door behind her and started walking towards her locker. _I guess this is the way it's going to be. My heart will forever belong to a boy who will never love me back. If he ever starts caring for me, it'll only be as a friend._ She thought and opened her locker with robotic movements, barely noticing what she was doing.

Helga grabbed the books and shoved them into her bag, which she usually left in the locker whenever she would head to lunch. She refused to carry that bag around 24/7 like most of the girls in her class did. It wasn't like she had her make-up in it too like the other girls. She didn't even wear make-up unless it was a special occasion.

Helga grunted in annoyance, a headache from having hit her head before starting to grow. She swung her bag around, attempting to get it over her shoulder, but then it hit something. "Hey!" a male voice said in shock and she looked towards the voice, noticing Arnold standing next to her with a mop in his hands. She looked at him in astonishment, her vision a little blurry, but she could see that he was surprised at seeing her.

"Helga, are you ok?" Arnold asked worriedly, readjusting the mop over his shoulder. "Huh? Why wouldn't I be?" she asked and blinked, feeling a tear run down her cheek. She choked in realization and wiped the tear away in panic. "Did you really hurt yourself before?" Arnold asked and lifted a hand towards her. She froze with her hand still against her cheek as his hand went to her temple. "You sure you shouldn't go and see the nurse?"

Helga almost blushed at the gentle touch, but she scowled deeply to hide it before she smacked Arnold's hand, successfully causing him to flinch and pull away. "I'm fine, Football Head!" she insisted, refusing to look in his direction. Arnold had expected her to push his hand away, but the way her voice was shaking was new and he wasn't sure he liked it.

'_If you start spontaneously flirting with Helga…'_ Arnold remembered Gerald had said to him earlier. _N-No way. I'm not flirting! But… Helga really is acting weird. Did she figure it out?_ He wondered and opened his mouth to speak again. "Look, I'm not sure what's wrong with you today, but leave me out of it." Helga said before he could say anything and turned her back to him.

Arnold started frowning, barely noticing that his eyes hurt a bit. He followed Helga and before she could reach for the door, he swung the mop in front of her and stopped her from moving any further. She gawked at him. "Are you insane?!" she asked and tried to move under it, but he just lowered the mop. "You're asking _me_ if I'm insane? You're acting just as weird if not more!" he replied and felt his eyes burning.

Helga grunted at him and was about to yell until she saw a flash in his eyes. She looked at him in shock, but didn't manage to ask him about it before he swung the mop around and pushed it against her chest. She dropped her bag as she leaned against the wall behind her, her hands holding on the stick to push it away, but he was stronger than he looked. "What are you _doing_?!"

"Getting answers." Arnold answered and moved closer to Helga, _dangerously_ close she thought. Her knuckles turned white as she tightened her grip on the mop, but she still couldn't move it a mere inch. "Why are you so aggressive? Isn't that _my_ thing?" she asked and tried to kick him, but he just moved even closer to her, forcing her waist to stay still against his own. She gulped at the sudden proximity and felt her heart get stuck in her throat.

"Wha'… What are you doing?" Helga asked and wiggled her hips to get free, but that didn't help, he just moved even closer to her. "I'm just making sure that you know how things are going to be from now on." He answered with a smirk before he forced her hands up against the wall. She cried in pain at the feeling of the tree rubbing against her palms, but the pain was small compared to the way her heart was beating embarrassingly hard against her ribcage.

"How things are… going to be…? What are you talking about?" Helga asked, feeling her cheeks start to redden uncharacteristically. Arnold moved his chest against hers, making the fact that her heart was beating so much quicker than his more obvious. "I'm done being your prey, Helga…" He explained and then the corner of his mouth went up in a predatory smirk that made her inhale sharply. "I think it's time you felt how it is to be the hunted." He whispered, his nose caressing hers before he let completely go of her.

Helga fell to the ground, realizing that her legs had gone all putty and that the mop had been the only thing keeping her standing for a while. Her eyes were the size of teacups as she stared at Arnold's feet walking away. Her face was scarlet red, her skin covered in goose bumps and her limps were shaking. She could hear a little voice inside her head telling her that this was oh-so wrong and oh-so… _interesting._

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><p><strong>Author's 2nd note: And that was the very first chapter! I really love a Dark Arnold… it's kind of like, I think Helga could use someone who can actually challenge her and to me, Arnold as he is normally can't. He's too kind, which is a good thing on different matters, but I'm missing a little bit more of attitude in him sometimes, but that's partially why I'm making this story. I want Arnold to take some charge and for Helga to have to fight for once xD<strong>

**As always, feel more than free to draw fan art or cover art for this! :D**


	2. I should do what he says

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned in this story.**

**They all belong to their rightful owner: Craig Bartlett.**

**Title: "Alter ego"**

**In the last chapter:**_** After accidentally breaking Madame Blanche's window, the gypsy whispered some words in Arnold's ear he didn't understand. It seemed as if he escaped with just that, but he started acting weird around Helga right after that happened. No one has become aware of what was going on in Arnold's head, not even Arnold himself, but after declaring to Helga that things between was going to change, Helga may have to consider how her life will change with this new Arnold around.**_

**Author's 1st note: In this chapter I am introducing an OC character! I figured Arnold should have some competition of some sort, because Dark Arnold gets even darker when faced with competition xD**

**[Please notify me if you notice any grammar mistakes. This isn't my first language, so there's bound to be mistakes.]**

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><p><span>Chapter 2: "I should do what he says"<span>

Helga's leg kept bouncing even though Gerald, who was sitting behind her, had already begged her to stop it. The sound from her shoe repeatedly stepping on the ground was starting to make a small earthquake, but she had ignored him. She was trying to listen to the teacher, but every time the woman had said a sentence, Helga lost track of the subject. She tried to write in her notebook, but all she managed to do was some doodles she wasn't sure belonged in her brain _nor_ in her notebook. She dared to sneak a glance in the direction of the person occupying her thoughts. The blonde, wide-headed boy was listening intensely to the teacher, occasionally scribbling notes down like the goody-two-shoes that he was… or was _supposed_ to be.

Helga could still feel the heat from Arnold's breath when he had leaned against her, forcing her against the wall. He was so close she could have leaned in and kissed him if she wanted to… Helga shook her head violently, forcing her thoughts back to the classroom. She didn't notice, but Arnold looked towards her right then. He titled his head to the side as he watched her bang her head against the table. _Is Helga having trouble with the subject…?_ He wondered and looked down on his own neatly organized notes. _Maybe I'll offer her my notes after class…_ He thought with a smile and scribbled down something more, feeling encouraged suddenly.

Less than a couple of minutes later, the bell rang and every student in the room started packing, ignoring the teacher's last words. Helga leaned back on her chair, deciding to be slow in getting out of the room. Arnold looked at her and then back at his notes. _I'm just offering her my notes out of kindness… There's nothing wrong with that._ He reminded himself and stood up, about to walk towards Helga, but Phoebe beat him to it and he sat down again. _Why is Helga so unapproachable?!_ he thought with a sigh and waited for Phoebe to leave.

The girls whispered for a moment, Helga clearly angry or confused about something and Phoebe trying to calm her down. "Go to lunch, Phoebe. I'll buy something somewhere else." Helga said and Phoebe nodded. "See you!" she said before she walked away, shooting a smile in Gerald's direction.

Helga smiled and shook her head at the sight. _They really should get together already._ She thought and saw something approach her in her peripheral vision. When she looked up, she saw Arnold's usual smile and it almost surprised her. "Uh, hi, Helga. Um… I was just thinking… were you having problems today…?" he asked and she frowned at him. "Problems?" she asked and looked at the notebook in his hands.

"Well, you just seemed… unfocused, so I was wondering if you would like to borrow my notes?" Arnold asked tentatively and held the notebook out for her. Helga blinked a couple of times, the offer processing a little slowly in her mind. "Uh… thank you, Arnold." She said and took the book, making sure to graze his fingers when she did like usual. "I admit my notes are less than ideal."

"Can I ask what was bothering you?"

"I don't know, _can_ you?" Helga retorted as she put Arnold's notebook into her bag. He shot her a slanted look at the correction. "_May_ I ask what is bothering you?" he improved, but noticed that she didn't seem too keen on answering. "Yeah, like you don't know." She said and stood up from her desk. He looked at her in surprise. "What do you mean? I really don't know; that's why I'm asking…"

Helga shot him a look of disbelief. _Is he fucking with me…?_ She wondered, but just shook her head. "Fine. Have it your way. Play your odd little game. See if I care." She said, swung her bag over her shoulder and left Arnold in the class. _What game?_ He thought and walked to his own desk. _Helga is acting really weird…_

* * *

><p>Once they had eaten lunch, Arnold and some of the other boys decided to go to the schoolyard and enjoy the warm weather for as long as it lasted. The boys were sitting on one of the hopper table, talking about some new game that would be released soon, but Arnold couldn't help but keep thinking about Helga. <em>Maybe she really thought I was flirting with her… Is that what she means by a game? But I didn't do anything! At least I don't think so…<em> He thought and scrunched his face. He put his hand on his head, attempting to massage his small headache away. It had been there since yesterday, but it was small enough to ignore as long as he thought about other things.

"Who is that?" Sid asked with a frown and the boys looked in the same direction as he did. Arnold turned his head as well towards the school gate and saw an unfamiliar face. A boy, probably around their own age, was looking around the schoolyard. He was tall and had bronze skin. His hair was a vibrant hue of copper, which brought out the texture of each curl on his head. He was wearing a pair of light blue jeans and a tight, long-sleeved, white t-shirt that did little to nothing hiding the muscles on his torso. The boys weren't close enough to him to notice, but he also had very full lips and stubbles around his mouth and on his jaw. It was those kind of stubbles that looked like he had forgotten to shave that very morning, but were obviously there to be seen and not shaved off.

"The girls have already noticed him." Gerald stated as he watched some of the girls from their class approach the boy. Rhonda, Nadine, Lila, Sheena and Phoebe walked up to him and he smiled a smile so dazzling that his white teeth almost blinded them. Gerald grunted. "Great. The new boy toy." He muttered as he watched Phoebe smile at the boy. She pointed in the boys' direction and the small group arched their backs as the girls approached them with the boy.

"Hi there. My name is Luka. I'm going to start in your class from tomorrow so I thought I'd come by and check things out." The boy said and some of the boys frowned, but Arnold just smiled at him. "Welcome to, I'm sure you'll feel at home here soon." He said and offered his hand. Luka took it with an appreciative smile, obviously aware of the mixed emotions in the other boys' eyes, but trying to ignore it. He was probably used to it, Arnold figured.

"We were just thinking about showing Luka around the school." Rhonda said dreamily. Arnold heard Curly grunt behind him and he put a firm hand on the boy's shoulder. "Down, boy." He whispered, but Curly just grunted once more before going quiet. "That sounds good." Luka said with a smile. "Have I met everyone in the class now?"

"No, Helga is not here." Phoebe answered with her usual smile, obviously not as infatuated with the boy's beauty as the other girls were, though Gerald couldn't see that. "Helga? Where is she? Is she sick?" Luka asked, but Nadine shook her head. "No, she's not sick. I think she went to lunch on her own." She explained.

"Is she unpopular?" Luka asked with a frown and Rhonda snorted. "She's not _popular_." She insisted. "But not _un_ either." Sheena stated with a scowl in Rhonda's direction. "You could say that she is her own person."

"Aren't we all?"

"Sure, but Helga is one of a kind." Gerald said with a snicker and the rest of the boys laughed as well, all except for Arnold who agreed, but was still wondering if something was wrong with said girl. "She should be back soon…" Phoebe said and looked towards the gate. "Oh, there she is!"

Luka, along with others in the group, looked towards the school gate where Helga had just appeared. Luka's eyes widened. "Whoa…" he stated and Arnold looked at him with a frown. _Whoa? Whoa what? Whoa Helga?_ He wondered and saw a smile spread on Luka's face. "That's Helga?" he asked and Rhonda frowned. "Yeah, that would be our very own tomboy."

It was obvious that Rhonda was trying to get Luka's attention, but it wasn't working. "So, want us to show you around, Luka?" Rhonda asked and put her hand on his arm. "Uh, maybe later. I think I should go and say hello to Helga first. I should introduce myself to everyone, right?" Luka said and was about to walk towards Helga, but Rhonda grabbed his arm. "I wouldn't do that! She has a bit of an attitude. I don't think she'd welcome you."

"An attitude?" Luka asked and looked towards Helga and he would gladly admit that she looked like she was in a sour mood. Somehow, that didn't change his mind though. "I should still say hello." He insisted, pulled his arm out of Rhonda's grasp and continued his walk towards her. The girls and the boys left back stared at Luka as he approached Helga. Arnold had a frown on his face.

Helga was currently looking at her phone, wondering how much time she had left before the next class. She didn't want to risk bumping into Arnold again, she really wasn't in the mood. On the asphalt beneath the phone, she saw a pair of legs. "Hi." She heard a voice say and she looked up. A young man was standing in front of her. She blinked, waiting for him to state his business. He continued to smile as he offered her his hand. "I'm Luka."

"And I'm confused. Why are you talking to me?"

"I'm going to start in your class tomorrow and I figured I should introduce myself." Luka explained, seemingly unfazed by the attitude he was met with. "New student? Oh, right! The one from, uh… Greece, right?" Helga asked and he nodded. "Oh, so you have heard of me." He stated and she quirked an eyebrow. "Heard of you? I heard we'd get a new student, but that's about it."

Luka observed Helga curiously. "You… You have no idea who I am, do you?" he asked. "The new student. What else do I have to know?" Helga asked and Luka snickered. "Nothing." He answered and took her hand. She looked at him in disbelief as he lifted her hand towards his mouth. "Nice to meet you." He continued and was about to kiss her hand.

Helga whipped her hand out of Luka's grip and scowled deeply at him. "Who do you think you are?" she asked in incredulity and walked away from him. The reaction from her classmates was very mixed; while most of the girls were mortified, the boys were practically hollering. "You rock, Helga!" Sid said and whistled. "Way to wipe that smug smile off his face." Harold praised and offered Helga his fist. "What is with the sorry excuse for an Adonis?" she asked as she bumped her fist against Harold's fist.

"How dare you, Helga! Luka is new, we're supposed to make him feel welcome!" Rhonda hissed angrily. "Oh, don't you worry, Rhonda Lloyd." Helga said and grabbed her nose to wiggle it. "I have a feeling that you will make him feel welcome enough for all of us."

"Bitch."

"Skank."

"Whoa, whoa, ladies!" Curly said suavely and stepped between the girls, resting his arms over their shoulders. "There's no need to fight. Helga, I appreciate the help, but I'm sure Rhonda knows who she belongs to." Curly continued, removed his arm from Helga and pinched Rhonda's cheek. Both girls groaned and Rhonda shoved curly away in disgust.

Helga looked in Luka's direction and noticed that he was walking towards them. _Oh, brother._ She thought and sat down next to Arnold, subconsciously making a statement of belonging to him though she would insist that she didn't belong to anyone. Her heart did though.

"Helga, I'm sorry that I insulted you. I didn't mean to." Luka apologized, his crystal blue eyes almost pleading with her like puppy eyes. The girls were practically swooning at the sight, but Helga was completely unaffected. "I'm not insulted. I'm just not going to join any fan club of yours."

Rhonda's eyes were almost burning holes into the side of Helga's skull, but the blonde girl couldn't care less. "No, I have figured as much. Since you don't know who I am." Luka said casually. _He's gotta be joking…_ Helga thought. "You mean to tell me you have an actual fan club?" she asked. "Helga! I swear, sometimes I'm wondering if you live under a rock!" Rhonda gasped and pulled a magazine out of her bag. She threw it on Helga's lap and the blonde looked at the cover and then back at Luka. "This explains why you expected me to know who you are."

The boys leaned closer to Helga and looked at the cover. "You're a model?!" Gerald asked in disbelief. "Just a hair model." Luka corrected with a shrug and ran his fingers through his hair. "But one of the most famous hair models." Nadine added. Helga hummed, stood up and placed the magazine next to Luka's face. "Very little Photoshop used. Not bad."

Rhonda grabbed her magazine and smacked Helga on the head with it. "Luka doesn't need Photoshop!" she stated. "I never said he did! But every model gets photshopped today no matter how picture perfect they already are." Helga retorted and looked at Luka, noticing that one of his locks was hanging down his forehead. She spread her fingers and ran them through his hair once, successfully forcing the lock back in place.

Helga could hear some gulps and sighs from the girls. "Take a picture, it'll last longer." She said sarcastically and rolled her eyes. "I can see why you're a hair model…" Nadine said with a smile. "Yeah, I bet he has a shelf filled with Syoss products." Helga added. "I prefer something more natural."

"Like what?" Rhonda asked in defense of Luka who looked more curious than offended. "I don't know. Like Arnold's, I guess." Helga answered before she could stop herself. She shrugged coolly, hoping that the casual gesture would make her comment seem more innocent. Arnold looked at her in shock. "Mine?" he asked. Helga knew she was treading on thin ice, but she wanted to prove her point anyhow. "Yeah. I bet you jump outta the shower in the morning and do this." she said and flicked her bangs. Gerald, who had stayed over at Arnold's too many times to count, laughed loudly. "That's so true!"

"Your hair is probably also thick enough to have curls in it too." Helga continued, sat down next to Arnold again and combed her fingers through his hair. He was staring at her in shock, his heart starting to beat soundly against his chest. Helga suddenly realized what she was doing though and started to ruffle his hair instead. "But I guess that wouldn't suit a football-shaped head!"

Arnold put his hands on top of Helga's to stop her from ruffling his hair even more. She was sure that she saw the sun reflect in his eyes for a moment before he smirked. "I'm sure curls would suit you too." He said almost mischievously. He moved one of his hands into her hair and wrapped a lock around his finger. Helga shivered at the ticklish feeling of Arnold letting the lock of her hair fall back and his fingers grazing her temple softly. She almost purred; she was completely mesmerized by his eyes.

Gerald, who was sitting right behind Arnold on the table, kicked Arnold discreetly, but firmly. "Ow!" Arnold said and turned to look at Gerald with anger and confusion burning in his dark green eyes. "What are you doing?" Arnold asked. "My words exactly!" Sid interjected, but to Arnold. "Ok, I don't know what that was, but _ew_." Rhonda said and shivered in disgust.

"Come on, Luka. The girls and I will show you around." Rhonda said and flashed her eyelashes at him. "Oh, sure. You coming, Helga?" Luka asked, thereby stopping Rhonda from pulling him with her. "Naw, I'll stay with the boys." She answered and looked at Phoebe, bopping her head towards Gerald. "I-I'll stay here too." Phoebe said and sat down next to Helga on the bench.

The girls wasted no time before they dragged Luka away and into the school. Helga started laughing hysterically. "What sheep!" she said and made the sound, causing the boys and Phoebe to laugh. "I'm a sheep!" Phoebe declared and put her head on Helga's shoulder. "A drooling sheep…" she continued, causing them to laugh again.

"Looks like you two are the only girls who didn't fall for Luka's charm?" Gerald asked, and Helga saw how obviously happy he was that Phoebe hadn't gone with the other girls. _Good thing I got her to stay._ She thought and smiled. "We're not blind to his charm, but come on! The way the girls are acting is an embarrassment to women." She said and saw a slightly mischievous look on Phoebe's face. It was almost invisible, but Helga knew her well enough to see it.

Without any warning, Phoebe pushed back on Helga's body and forced the girl to lie down, her head hitting Arnold's lap in the process. "Phoebe!" Helga scolded in shock, but the girl just giggled. "The girls are practically crawling at his feet." she said, lifted her feet and hands and moved them around as if she was crawling. She got the desired laugh from the boys, but most importantly, she had made an excuse for having forced Helga to lie down.

_Don't look at him. Don't look at him. Don't look at him._ Helga told herself over and over, doing her best not to look up at Arnold and only at Phoebe. She could feel his lap against the back of her head though and she had also felt how he had flinched when she had landed there. _After all he has been doing to me, I guess he deserved some punishment._ She thought and made no move to sit back up again, not that Phoebe would let her. _When did she turn so cunning?_

While Phoebe continued to joke with the boys, doing her best to give Arnold and Helga a chance to talk, the blondes instead spend their time doing their best to not look at the other. Arnold loved the feeling of Helga resting on his lap, but he feared he would start loving it too much if he thought too much about it. Helga, on the other hand, liked using Arnold's lap as a pillow as well, but she was still confused about all these different approaches he had made lately. She wasn't sure what they meant just yet.

* * *

><p>Helga felt less distracted once the class was about to start again. She had basically been practicing heavily for the last fifteen minutes by resting on Arnold's lap after all. Phoebe had refused to let her go until it was time for class again and the Asian girl did little to nothing to show her dissatisfaction to Helga for not having spoken a word to Arnold through the whole thing. Helga had just frowned at her, poked fun at her for flirting with Gerald and the girl had gone silent. Phoebe wouldn't forget who was the alpha female between the two of them after all.<p>

Helga looked up towards the desk with little interest when the teacher started speaking. "Hello, class. This is Luka, I believe you have all met him already." She said and gestured to Luka who was standing next to her. _Met him, judged him, heard how hot he is on a scale from one to thousand…_ Helga thought sarcastically and smirked at her own joke. "He doesn't officially enter our class until tomorrow, but since he came all this way just to check the school out, I figured we could try and include him in the class already." She continued and smiled at Luka. "This way you also know where to go tomorrow."

Rhonda coughed and lifted her hand into the air. "Yes, Miss Wellington?" the teacher said and Rhonda smiled that sugary smile she only made when she wanted something. "Where is Luka going to sit?" she asked and Helga rolled her eyes. _My God. If the teacher seats Luka next to Rhonda, he'll never get to hear what the teacher is saying over Rhonda's flirting._ She thought and continued to mindlessly scribble in her notebook. "Well, Miss Wellington. I was thinking that Luka would sit at the empty seat next to Miss Pataki." The teacher answered.

In shock, Helga cracked the pencil in her hand. "N-Next to me?" she asked and noticed that Rhonda was looking at her with pure hatred; not that it was anything new. Helga looked up at the teacher, hoping the woman could see that she was begging her to place him somewhere else. _I've changed my mind! Place him next to Rhonda, please! I'm begging you!_ She thought, but the teacher either didn't catch on or didn't care. "It's the only place that's empty. Please take a seat, Mr. Mikos." The teacher said and Luka walked towards Helga.

_This sucks, sucks, sucks…_ Helga thought as Luka sat down next to her. "Pataki?" he questioned curiously. She scowled at him. "Mikos?" she questioned in defense, but he just kept smiling at her. "It's Greek." He explained. "Doi." She retorted and looked in her notebook again. She could feel that he was waiting patiently for her answer though and she sighed. "Hungarian." She muttered and looked at the teacher after she had said what page to turn to in the book.

Helga quickly turned to the page and shoved the book all the way over to Luka when he had attempted to lean closer to her. "You're not gonna participate?" he asked and she shook her head. "I read the chapter last night. I know what she is gonna say already." She explained and pointed in Phoebe's direction with her broken pencil. "I'm not as far in front as Phoebe though." She said and put the broken pencil into her pencil case and pulled out a pen instead. She figured that a pen would be harder to break if she got angry again. The chances for getting angry were big with Luka sitting next to her.

Rather than having looked at Phoebe, Luka had just noticed Helga's pencil. "What happened with your pencil?" he asked. "I accidentally broke it when the teacher said that you would be my neighbor." She explained, still refusing to look at him even though she could see his face to her side. "Stronger than you look…" Luka observed and she turned to frown at him. "What is that supposed to mean?" she asked and she shrugged. "You gotta admit that pink clothes and blonde hair gives a different signal."

"Have you never learned not to judge a book by its cover?"

"That's bullshit. The choice of the cover, the same as what we choose to wear, tells us at least a little bit about the story or the personality."

"Don't make me tell you what your looks tells _me_." Helga said with a warning smirk and looked back into her notebook. "You really hate me, don't you?" Luka asked with a smile. "Don't flatter yourself. I have better things to do than hate someone who has done nothing against me. That doesn't mean I like you though." She answered.

"Well, that was an honest response at least."

"What do you mean?"

"Most people would pretend to like a person, at least when they are confronted. With you, people know for sure whether you like them or hate them. That is, if you like anyone at all?"

"Very few people have that privilege."

"Like who?"

"Phoebe, for example… and Arno - - a-and that's about it!" Helga said, sighing in relief. _I need to be more careful. Why does he keep talking to me anyway? I'm pretty sure that my lack of interest is showing._ She thought and pulled her denim jacket off. She placed it over the back of her chair and noticed that Luka was staring at her chest. She was about to call him out on it, but he started talking before she did. "Ok, I'm not shocked you have a tattoo, it's more _what_ you have tattooed that is a bit of a surprise."

Helga looked down at her right breast, remembering that she about a month ago had a tattoo made ten centimeters below her clavicular. _How come I keep forgetting it's there? Well, it's a good thing that Miriam doesn't remember signing the papers at the tattoo shop either._ She thought and looked back at Luka. "What's so wrong with it?" she asked, but he shook his head. "There's nothing wrong with it. I guess, I just don't understand what a pink bow would have of personal meaning to you?" he answered, but something told her that he was also asking her about it. She shrugged casually. "As a child I wore the same pink bow all day every day, but I lost it a month ago. I figured a tattoo would be the next best thing." She answered, frowning at the memory of having thrown the pink bow out in the trash. She had regretted it instantly and then gone to get the tattoo the day after.

"But why on your breast?"

"To give perverts an extra excuse for staring at my breasts. What do you care?!" Helga asked in annoyance and poked Luka's shoulder with her pen. The boy just laughed, but another boy nearby was far from laughing. Arnold finally decided to look away, but his scowl didn't disappear. _I thought Helga didn't like him, but why is she talking so casually with him then?_ He wondered and felt his headache pulsate in the back of his head. He groaned and put his hands on the back of his head, his arms starting to shake.

Helga thought Luka had finally gotten the message and she could be left alone until she felt something poke her back. She turned to scowl at Gerald, but he was pointing worriedly next to her. She quirked an eyebrow and looked at Arnold's desk, noticing that the blonde boy was shivering as he held his head tightly. Helga didn't need to ask Gerald what he wanted of her. She looked towards the teacher, verified that she was turned towards the board and then poked Arnold's shoulder.

Arnold lifted his head from the desk and looked at Helga, who was looking at him worriedly. "Arnold, are you ok?" she asked and her eyes quickly darted towards the teacher, verifying once more that she wasn't looking at them. Arnold panted a bit, he was a little happy that Helga looked so worried, but the headache instantly grew worse and he hissed in pain. The teacher heard him and Helga decided to stand up to approach Arnold. "I think he needs to go to the nurse." She said, not caring how her classmates were looking at her funny due to her concern.

"What's wrong with him?" the teacher asked as Helga tried to get Arnold standing up. "I-I don't know. Gerald?" she asked. "He's been complaining about a headache since yesterday, but I don't think it was this bad until now!" he answered before Arnold stumbled into Helga, causing her to fall into the desk. She managed to steady them both though and she looked stubbornly at the teacher. "I'm taking him to the nurse." She stated, grabbed his legs and lifted him into her arms. The others looked at her in shock; it had been so easy for her to lift him.

"Are you going to be ok on your own, Miss Pataki?" the teacher asked, but Helga just walked past her. "I'll be fine! I'll come back soon." She answered, kicked the door open and walked out into the hall. She heard the door slam behind her, but Arnold breathing on her almost bare chest tickled her and her other senses seemed to fade. _Why did I take my jacket off?_ She wondered, feeling goose bumps spread on her arms as she jogged.

Soon, Helga reached the infirmary and turned her back to the door. She pushed it open with ease and called for the nurse, but the white room was empty. "Typical! The woman probably went home already! I miss Shelley." Helga said and placed Arnold on the bed. She looked around, bouncing impatiently. _What to do? What to do?_ She wondered and noticed a cloth lying on a shelf. She shrugged, grabbed the cloth and went to the sink. She adjusted the water to cold, but not freezing and wetted the cloth, her eyes darting back to Arnold every third second.

"Arnold, I'm putting a wet cloth on your forehead." Helga said, turned the water off and walked over to him. He was sitting up, not saying a word and his eyes were closed. "I'm putting it on now." She warned and did so. Arnold hissed at the cold water and his hand went around her wrist, holding the cloth closely to his forehead. She blushed slightly at the touch, but ignored her beating heart. "D-Does it feel any better?" she asked and looked around. "She must have some painkillers around, right?"

Helga was about to walk towards a cabinet, but Arnold grabbed her other hand and forced her back in front of him. She almost stumbled into him, but her knee against the bed stopped her from that. "No… stay." He begged and opened his eyes. She stopped breathing at the sight of them; they were flickering between dark and light green, almost twirling around as if trying to hypnotize her. "I thought you… didn't like Luka…?" Arnold asked in a tired voice and touched Helga's cheek with the hand he had used to hold the cloth.

Helga's hand on the cloth tensed at the tender touch, her eyes blinking rapidly. She wanted to pull away in embarrassment at the proximity, but the way Arnold was gazing at her made her stay. "I… I-I don't." she answered as his hand traveled to her neck and caressed it. "Then why did you… look so happy while talking with him?" he asked as his hands went to her waist, his fingers tightening his grip and almost tickling her. "D-Did not!" she insisted. "I was trying to get him to stop talking - - "

"Liar." Arnold interrupted and pulled Helga down on the bed with him. She landed on top of him, her hands planted on each side of his head. Helga's heart almost hurt at how hard it was beating, but she couldn't bring herself to pull away. His eyes still looked crazy, switching between the usual color and this new bright one. _What's happening with him?_ She wondered, but forgot that thought when he caressed her cheek again and pulled her head closer to his.

"Please don't… smile at him. Let only me see you so happy… please." Arnold whispered against Helga's lips. Her eyes widened a bit, but they went half-lidded again almost instantly. "Are you… jealous?" she asked in confusion and he nodded. "Incredibly… jealous… of everything that comes near you." He answered before hugging her so tightly that he almost squeezed the lift out of her. "I can hear… a little voice inside my head…" He continued and Helga felt her heart speed up. "Telling me… I should do what he says… and he's jealous."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's 2nd note: Mean place to stop, I know. I was really unsure what to end this with. I was considering a kiss, but… I have other ideas for a possible first kiss too so I'm leaving that for later! *Evil laugh*<strong>

**I have a reference picture for Luka, his picture is actually a hair model xD You can ask to see the picture in a message at my deviantArt or my YouTube account, there are links for both on my profile :3**


	3. He is trying to tell me things

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned in this story.**

**They all belong to their rightful owner: Craig Bartlett.**

**Title: "Alter ego"**

**In the last chapter:**_** Helga spent most of the first hours of school wondering what Arnold's new attitude towards her meant, only to get even more confused when he got back to his usual gentle self. She is starting to believe that he is playing games with her even though he has no idea what she is talking about.**_

_**Luka is the new boy in the class and has taken a shine to Helga already. She shows little to no interest in him though she admits that she, like every other girl, thinks that he is very beautiful.**_

_**During class Helga and Luka chat for a bit, but is interrupted when Arnold's twenty-four year old headache grows suddenly intense. Helga carries him to the nurse, who isn't at her office. Helga notices a flicker in Arnold's eyes as he begs her not to get too fond of Luka. He admits that he can hear a little jealous voice in his head.**_

**Author's 1st note: I don't know what to say! You don't really wanna hear me chat forever anyways so off you go! xD**

**[Please notify me if you notice any grammar mistakes. This isn't my first language, so there's bound to be mistakes.]**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 3: "He is trying to tell me things"<span>

"Thank you, nurse. I'll go back to class now." Helga said and closed the door to the nurse's office behind her. She turned her back against the door and took a deep breath. An instant flush spread to her face; she could still feel Arnold's hands on her cheeks, neck and her waist. _Jealous…?_ She thought in disbelief. He had admitted that to her, hadn't he? Before he fainted that was… The nurse had walked in about ten seconds later on Helga had left Arnold in her care. The nurse had insisted that Arnold was perhaps anemic and that she would call Sunset Arms soon.

Helga put her hand on her neck, feeling that heat still radiating from the skin. She could feel herself gulp and put her hand in front of her mouth. _What… was that? His eyes looked crazy! There's definitely something wrong with him; he can't just be anemic._ She thought and headed back towards the class. On her way, she noticed Gerald in the empty hallway. "Gerald." She said in relief and wrapped her arms around him to which he did the same. "Is Arnold ok?" he asked worriedly and let go of her. She shrugged. "I'm not sure. The nurse says he might be anemic, but… Gerald, you should have seen him."

"What do you mean?"

"His eyes! They were… They were changing colors! Dark, then bright, then dark again and so on. It looked like he was possessed or something." Helga answered and put her hand to her forehead. Gerald looked thoughtfully away. "Possessed…? You don't think this could have been because…?" he muttered and her eyes widened. "Madame Blanche!" they said in unison, pointing at each other. "Of course! I'm such an idiot!" Helga declared. "Arnold's been acting crazy ever since! His bad attitude, his talk about me being _his_ prey from now on, his confession of being jealous - - "

"Whoa, whoa, _wait_! What has Arnold been telling you?" Gerald interrupted. He had known that Helga has feelings for Arnold since about a half year back. He had caught her talking with Phoebe about it and called her out on it later. He hadn't expected her to call him out on his feelings for Phoebe though and he had suggested they would both keep the other's secret, even though he was starting to wonder if that wasn't stupid. He knew Arnold had feelings for Helga too, but Arnold had also insisted on keeping that a secret. Gerald couldn't bring himself to tell on Helga because then she would tell on him and… all this secrecy had gotten really complicated all of a sudden and he had given up on trying to make sense of it all.

Helga grew quiet at Gerald's question. "He's been acting weird…" she admitted, but Gerald shook his head. "I'm gonna need more than that. What was that about prey?" he asked and Helga gulped. "He pushed me up against the wall yesterday and told me that the tables would be turned. That he would be hunting _me_ from now on." She explained with an expression on her face he couldn't decipher. He started scratching his head. "That doesn't sound like something Arnold would say…" he observed, which Helga nodded at. "I'm going to Madame Blanche's shop. I need to find out what's going on with him."

"I'm coming with you."

* * *

><p>Helga and Gerald were gawking at Madame Blanche's shop. "How did… Why is…" Gerald didn't get to finish his question before Helga smacked him on the back of his head. "This is not the time to be dumbfounded, Tall Hair Boy!" she scolded and he frowned at her. "Don't tell me you're not shocked?" he asked and she looked at the perfect window in front of her. "Well… Ok, so she's been quick with getting it repaired. That doesn't mean that she did it with voodoo." She said and wiggled her fingers scarily around. "Now, come on."<p>

Gerald stuck his tongue out at Helga as soon as her back was turned to him. They walked into the shop together, but both halted at the sight of the place. "I don't remember this place being so creepy the last time I was here." Gerald admitted as he scrunched his nose at the sight of a shrunken head next to him. "Me neither…" Helga mumbled as her eyes followed the exotic twining plants in the ceiling. Lanterns were swaying from the ceiling, dangerously close next to the scarlet red curtains and yet Helga felt no fear of a fire. Somehow, the place didn't seem fragile enough.

"Don't you dare touch anything, you thieves!"

Helga and Gerald jolted at the roaring voice. "We are not thieves!" Gerald insisted before Madame Blanche appeared in the room, seemingly out of nowhere. "Oh, I'm sorry, children. I thought you were someone else." She explained. "Who would to steal anything in here?" Helga asked and looked at an open treasure box with objects in it she was more likely to call dinglehoppers than their proper name. "You'd be surprised to know how many tempting things you can get in here." Madame Blanche explained, snapped and the treasure box closed on its own. Helga whipped her hand back, barely saving her fingers from the wooden mouth. "Hey!" she hissed, but the gypsy ignored her. "What can I help you two with?"

"I demand that you - - "

"You don't demand from _me_, boy. You _request_ and pray to God that I will answer." Madame Blanche interrupted Gerald with a venomous glare. Helga slapped him at the back of his head. "Let me do the talking." She said and stepped closer to Madame Blanche who smiled at her. "I remember you." She said. "The girl who came here, hoping to fall out of love - - "

Helga coughed loudly, stopping Madame Blanche from continuing her sentence. "This is not a pleasantry visit. I'm not here to relive old memories." She said, but Madame Blanche's smile stayed on, seemingly not surprised at Helga's outburst. Gerald was surprised though. _I have to remember to ask her why she seems so familiar with Madame Blanche later…_

"I want to know what the hell you did to Arnold." Helga continued and Madame Blanche frowned. "Should I know that name?" she asked. Helga rolled her eyes. "I guess not." She admitted though it felt a little weird to meet someone in Hillwood who didn't know Arnold's name. "Arnold is the kid who broke your window." She explained. "Oh, the short blonde boy? Yes, I remember now." Madame Blanche said with an unexpected smile. Helga and Gerald looked at each other questioningly before they looked back at her. "Mind undoing whatever it was you did to him?"

"What was it I did to him again?"

"Make him act all weird around _me_!"

"It's not only around you, Helga."

"Oh, yeah? He seems to only get that way when I'm around!"

"That's interesting…" Madame Blanche muttered and approached Helga. The blonde took a couple of steps back before she hit a shelf and was forced to stand still as the gypsy lifted her head up to examine her. "Why only around you, Helga?" she asked as she twisted her head around, observing every crook of Helga's face. "That's what _I'm_ asking!" Helga said before she slapped Madame Blanche's hands away from her, scowling fearlessly at the woman.

"I don't know what to tell you, children. Arnold is merely acting the way he subconsciously wishes to." Madame Blanche said with a long shrug and walked through the store. Gerald looked questioningly at Helga who didn't look back at him. "Wait. What does that mean? What did you do to him?" she asked as she followed the gypsy, Gerald following right behind her.

"What I do to everyone who gets in my way."

Helga rolled her eyes. "And that is…?" she probed, but the woman either ignored her or didn't catch onto what she was asking for. "Say…" Madame Blanche said and turned around to look at Gerald. "Unlike Helga, you seem to be very fascinated with everything in my store." She observed and Gerald removed his hand from a weird-looking object. "Well, you probably wouldn't understand… but normal people are fascinated by magic."

"Magic? And what do you consider magic, boy?"

"Uh - - "

"Fairies?"

"I guess, but - - "

"Whether magic truly exists all depends on what you believe to be magic. It is not that many years ago that people deemed medicine as magic. Birds fly in the sky, fish breathe underwater; do we consider them magical creatures?"

Gerald smiled. "I never thought of it that way - - "

"We are getting way off topic! Look, gypsy, I don't care if what you did to Arnold was magical or not, but he's acting _weird_ and I'm not going to buy the bullshit about how it's how he _wants_ to act." Helga interjected and crossed her arms. "Well, much like you I don't care whether you believe me or not." Madame Blanche said. "I gave you my answer; Arnold is acting how he wishes to act. Whatever I did to him made him simply follow his instincts unlike most people who ignore what they really want to say or do."

"But… Arnold isn't the aggressive type." Gerald insisted as he looked at Helga who frowned with slightly reddened cheeks and looked away. "He doesn't have to be the aggressive type. What we deem people's types is what they let us see. Arnold is the type to _hide_ his more aggressive nature, yes, but that does not mean he doesn't have one. I find it interesting that he is only acting out on Helga though…" Madame Blanche answered and smirked at Helga. "Aren't you happy to get a boy's attention?"

Helga didn't answer that question; she didn't dare. Also, she wasn't sure of the answer. It was Arnold who was _hitting on_ her or whatever one might call it, but he was doing it in such an unfamiliar way that she wasn't sure if she believed it was really him. "Let me get this straight… Arnold is acting on what his body wants rather than his brain?" Gerald asked and Madame Blanche nodded. "And he will continue to do so until he accepts his dark side."

"Dark side?"

"His potential for questionable acts. I don't know the true nature of how he has started to act around you, Helga, but the sooner he acknowledges it, the sooner Dark Arnold can be controlled again." Madame Blanche answered with a smirk and continued her way through the store. "Dark Arnold…?" Helga repeated in incredulity and quirked an eyebrow in Gerald's direction. Gerald opened his mouth, about to ask Madame Blanche another question, but she was gone. "Madame Blanche?"

Helga walked in the same direction as the woman, turned a corner and halted. She looked around, but all she could see were exotic vines hanging down the wall. She tried touching them, but they didn't move. "Where did she go?" she wondered aloud and looked around, but Gerald just shrugged. "She's a witch; she could be anywhere." He insisted and Helga groaned. "She is _not_ a witch!" she insisted. "Then how do you explain how she cursed Arnold?" Gerald countered and started moving towards the door. Helga looked around one last time before she followed him.

Gerald and Helga were walking in silence with no particular destination. "Well, that didn't help us much." Helga muttered. "Are you kidding? It helped us plenty! We know why Arnold is acting like this; isn't that what we wanted?" Gerald asked, but Helga shook her head. "We wanted to know how to help him, how to stop him from acting this way." She corrected. "Well, we know that too, right? He has to acknowledge the Dark Arnold." Gerald said with a snicker.

"Don't give that personality a name; it makes him sound bipolar."

"Well, he is, isn't he? Madame Blanche says he is acting the way he wants to, but usually hides. So, that basically means there's a second Arnold in there none of us knows about."

Helga halted at Gerald's words. "That doesn't answer the most important question." She muttered. Gerald stopped and turned to look at her. "What?" he asked, and she looked at him. "What does _Dark Arnold_ want with me?" she asked. Gerald scratched his head thoughtfully. _I think I know what…_ He thought, but he couldn't tell her. He had made a promise to his best friend about keeping it a secret so even if it was stupid then best friends didn't tell on each other. "Maybe he wants revenge for all the bullying over the years?" he suggested jokingly and continued to walk.

Helga stared at Gerald with wide eyes. _Revenge… Is that what this is? Some petty game?_ She wondered and looked back at Madame Blanche's shop. She frowned deeply. _Whatever you did, gypsy woman, has really messed up my life._

* * *

><p>Arnold had a deep frown on his face the next morning as he waited for the class to start. He had no recollection of what had happened the day before; he only knew what the nurse had told him when he finally woke up in her office. She had told him that he'd had a severe headache and had passed out during class. A female classmate had brought him there, a classmate he had figured out must have been Helga, and had then left once the nurse came back from her late lunch.<p>

Arnold couldn't remember anything, but he wanted to thank Helga for what she had done. Problem was that the girl seemed to be avoiding him. Gerald was acting a little funny too, but not in the same way. Helga seemed to be angrier with him than usual while Gerald looked like he was expecting Arnold to explode any second. Gerald's weird behavior could be explained – he was probably still hoping for something to happen because of Madame Blanche or maybe he was just worried because of yesterday – but Helga was a mystery. Granted, that was one of the things, Arnold liked about her, but right then it was just frustrating, which it actually always was, now that he thought about it.

Arnold looked in Helga's direction, noticing that she was still scribbling in her notebook per usual. Luka tried talking to her and she gave a hum in response from time to time. Arnold knew she wasn't interested in Luka, it could be seen from the space, so why had he felt so jealous yesterday? Something had overcome him and he would be lying if he said he couldn't remember _anything_. His memory was full of holes though. He remembered Helga caring for Arnold when they were at the nurse's office, he remembered talking to her, but not about what and then everything was just blank. _Maybe I should get examined by a doctor…_ Arnold thought.

"All right, kids, that'll be all for today. Remember that the school dance is coming up, get yourself a date, have fun and all that jazz. See you tomorrow." Their teacher said and hurried out of the classroom just before the bell rang. Like the rest of the students, Helga started packing her things. "School dance?" Luka repeated next to her in a questioning manner. She growled lowly. "Don't tell me they don't have school dances in Greece?" she asked with a smirk and stood up from her chair. "Of course we do." He answered with a frown. "But I think it's a bigger deal in America."

"I wouldn't know." Helga retorted and grabbed her bag. Luka seemed to start thinking about something and Helga felt her inner alarm go off. _Oh, he'd better not think about asking me!_ She thought and stood up from her chair. Before Luka could call her name, she was already out of the classroom. _That boy is making me prejudiced against Greek people!_ She thought in annoyance as she stuck her finger against her tragus and rubbed it, hoping that the boy's eternal chatter during class hadn't killed anything inside her ear.

"Helga, wait up!" a female voice called and Helga stopped. She would have started running if it had been a male voice. "Is he really bothering you that much?" Phoebe asked once she had reached Helga. "Yes, he is chewing my ear off. Can't the guy take a hint?" she wondered and continued her way towards the cafeteria with Phoebe next to her. "Well, if he is bothering you so, I was wondering if I could convince him to switch seats with me? I'm sure he'd like a window seat." Phoebe suggested and Helga smirked at her. "And you are doing that out of the kindness in your heart?"

"I don't know what you are getting at, Helga."

"I'm sure not. It's just a coincidence that you're willing to switch seats with Adonis who is sitting next to me _and_ in front of Gerald?"

"Helga, I'm really just trying to help you!"

"That's part of it and I appreciate it. Hey, be my guest if you can convince him. You don't just shut up during class, you sit as still as a mouse." Helga teased and walked into the cafeteria. "I shall ask him then." Phoebe said with a perky voice. Helga smirked at her. "Does it really have nothing to do with Gerald?" she asked and flashed her eyelashes. The Asian girl blushed slightly. "You're not gonna believe me if I say no…" she mumbled and Helga laughed loudly. "You got it."

The two girls quickly grabbed their treys, collected their food and went to sit at their usual table. "Speaking of Gerald…" Helga said and Phoebe looked at her pleadingly. "Helga - - "

"No-no, it's not another one of my attempts at getting you to admit your feelings to him." Helga insisted. _Though I know that he'd be happy if you did._ She thought with a sigh. "He and I went to Madame Blanche's shop yesterday."

"What were you doing there?"

"Asking her what the fuck she did to Arnold." Helga explained and Phoebe looked at her curiously. "Surely his odd behavior has nothing to do with Madame Blanche?" she asked, but Helga shook her head. "She didn't admit anything, but she _did_ explain what is going on with Arnold."

"What then?"

"Apparently he has a dark side he is hiding. Whatever curse she put on him forces him to act the way he wants to, but usually wouldn't because… of embarrassment or manners or whatever. She calls him Dark Arnold."

"Dark Arnold? That sounds like a villain from a 6am cartoon."

"Good one, Phoebs."

"Thanks." The girl said with a smile and gazed thoughtfully in Arnold and Gerald's direction. "What does that mean though? Will he continue to act like this for the rest of his life?" she wondered, but Helga shook her head again. "Not exactly. Madame Blanche said something about how he needs to accept that he isn't perfect." She explained, but that just made Phoebe frown. "How does he do that?" she asked, but Helga shrugged. "Beats me. I'm staying away from him until then though."

On the other side of the cafeteria, Gerald was trying to get Arnold's attention. "Arnold… Arnold. Arnold!" he called and the blonde boy finally looked at his friend. "You haven't been listening to a word I said, have you?" he asked and Arnold had to shake his head. "Sorry, Gerald. I've just been trying to thank Helga for what she did yesterday, but I think she's avoiding me." He admitted and looked in Helga's direction.

"Yeah, speaking of her… Do you remember what you said to her yesterday in the nurse's office?" Gerald asked and Arnold looked at him again. "Not really… I get these weird images in my head of Helga in front of me and staring at me like if I just did something unbelievable, but I don't remember anything else. Has she said anything?" he asked and Gerald sighed. _So he really doesn't remember these things… And what did Helga say; something about his eyes turning brighter?_ He thought, but shoved the thought away for now. "Kind of… Look, Arnold, I went to Madame Blanche's shop yesterday and - - "

"Not that again, Gerald! I'm telling you, I don't believe in - - "

"I don't care if you don't believe it! It's real! She told me what's going on with you and even how to stop it." Gerald insisted and crossed his arms. Arnold stared at him in shock. "She actually put a curse on me?" he asked and Gerald nodded. "Yes, and whatever she did made you go all Dark Arnold on Helga!" he explained, but Arnold frowned in confusion. "Dark Arnold…?" he repeated. "Uh, I guess I have to explain from the beginning…" Gerald said and started the story.

At the other side of the cafeteria, Luka was smiling his model smile at the girls around him; his model smile was as fake as a size zero girl with D-cups. His jaw was starting to hurt. He had done his model smile for far longer than he had done at any gig he had ever been to. Unlike most of his male friends, who also happened to be models, he didn't care much for the female attention. Not that he liked the male one more. He just didn't like girls who throw themselves at the feet of a stranger and these girls didn't know anything about him except what he looked like. He wasn't as shallow as his colleagues and that confused girls to no extent. If a model wasn't all about looks, what did he want?

Luka knew what he wanted; a girl who didn't care about his model career. He had considered giving up on it, but he couldn't imagine himself doing anything else with his life. At least not as long as he was young. He wasn't a fool; he knew his looks would fade over time unless he did a George Clooney and got handsomer and handsomer over the years, but the odds were against him. Until then, he just wanted friends who didn't care what he worked with. Helga didn't care; she even seemed to disrespect him because of his career choice. Luka wouldn't admit it, but he liked a challenge and everything in his life had been so easy lately. Was it wrong to want something that seemed unapproachable when you were used to getting anything you wanted?

"So, Luka… have you been thinking about who you want to invite to the school dance?" one of the girls asked him. That finally got his attention and he turned to look at the black-haired girl next to him. _Rhonda, I think…_ He told himself and cringed on the inside. She was the worst one out of this group of girls who were hovering over him like moths near a lamp. 100 % shallow, materialistic and completely unaware of how much one of the boys loved her. Or maybe she knew and just didn't care because this Curly guy wasn't rich or sexy enough to be on any list.

The girls around here weren't nearly as bad as Rhonda, but he didn't care much for them either. The blonde one with the dark skin seemed interesting at least. Then there was the tall brunette who didn't seem all that interested in him and was clearly just doing whatever the other girls did. _Not_ attractive. Then there was the redhead who spoke like a Muppet reject. She was, as she herself would say, _ever so_ annoying, which was a pity, because she was the most natural looking girl in the class.

"Uh, no. Not really. Do I _have_ to ask someone?" Luka asked and turned his head towards Helga who was sitting with Phoebe at what he had figured was their usual table. He was a little curious about Phoebe as well; she had seemed star struck the first time she saw him, like if he had looked like her favorite movie star, but had changed her mind quickly. Was it because of Helga's disinterest that Phoebe wasn't interested in him anymore? That made her just as much as a follower as some of the others. Helga really was clearly the only authentic girl in the class.

"Well, it's not obligatory or anything - - "

"Then I probably won't." Luka interrupted, hoping this would be the end of the conversation. Rhonda frowned at his nonchalant reaction. "But most people will probably come with dates. It's the perfect way to get to know someone." She continued and smiled when it seemed to catch Luka's interest. "I mean, going to the dance together doesn't mean you have to get together and be high school sweethearts… but it'd be nice to go with someone you could see yourself with, right?"

"Getting to know someone…" Luka repeated absentmindedly. "Yeah! I mean, you can go with just a friend too." Sheena said nonchalantly, earning a deathly glare from Rhonda. "Or someone you find attractive." She corrected as sweetly as she could. The girls awaited his response and then he suddenly smiled at them. "I think I know who I want to invite." He said and Rhonda smiled. "Oh, I thought you'd never - - " she started, but then Luka stood up from his chair and walked away from their table.

"Where is he going?" Nadine wondered as they watched him head towards Arnold and Gerald's table. "Oh…" Lila said and put her hand to her mouth. "You wouldn't think that Luka finds men ever so attractive, would you?" she wondered. "Luka is _not_ gay!" Rhonda insisted and looked towards him in horror. "If he is, I'm going to kill myself!" she declared, causing some of the girls to roll their eyes.

"Hey, guys?" Luka asked once he had reached Arnold and Gerald's table. They had been in the middle of a heated conversation, but looked at him without any anger in their eyes. "Am I interrupting?" he asked and Arnold shook his head. "No, Gerald is just trying to feed me one of his stories." He answered with a smile, but Gerald looked less than happy. "After all these years, how can you not believe me?" he asked in frustration and Arnold frowned at him. "Because what you're saying can't possibly be true!"

"Uh, boys?" Luka tried again and crouched next to their table. "I kind of need some help and I heard you're good at giving advice, Arnold." He continued and the blonde boy finally looked at him, forgetting all about Gerald. "How can you have heard that already?" he wondered and Luka smirked. "Rhonda has made sure I'm up-to-date about all the gossip." He explained and Gerald rolled his eyes. "Typical."

"Well, I would be glad to help you, Luka. What's up?" Arnold asked before grabbing his jug and putting it to his lips. "I want to ask Helga to go to the dance with me." Luka said and Arnold choked on the water. Gerald patted his back and gave him a tissue. "That's different." Arnold admitted and took another sip to get the itchy feeling away from his throat. "I don't think anyone's ever asked me for help about Helga…" He continued, but remembered that Stinky had actually had a crush on Helga once. So had Arnie, now he thought about it. And Brainy probably still had, that was clear as day. And didn't Harold like Helga once too? _Huh. Why haven't I realized that she's had so many admirers when we were younger?_ He wondered.

"Well… can you help me?" Luka asked and Arnold looked at him again. He hummed thoughtfully, but Luka then turned to look in Helga's direction. "I have no idea how to get her attention. I've never had to fight for a girl before." He said solemnly. "Oh, my heart bleeds for you." Gerald muttered sarcastically, earning an elbow to his stomach from Arnold. "That's understandable. Helga isn't really like most girls." Arnold explained and Luka smirked. "Yeah, that's kinda why I like her… I just don't know what kind of boys _she_ likes."

"Me neither." Arnold muttered. _I do_. Gerald thought, but kept that to himself. "Luka, I know you didn't ask for _my_ advice, but I recommend asking someone else. As far as I know, Helga's never even had a boyfriend. I don't think she's interested in boys." He said and Luka quirked an eyebrow. "Is she lesbian?" he asked and Arnold snickered. "Doubt it. I just don't think love is her scene." He said, but his own words hurt. _I know that's a lie… Well, it was a lie when she was nine at least. Now I'm not so sure anymore…_ He thought and looked in Helga's direction.

"Oh, come on. All girls dream about love; some just refuse to admit it." Luka insisted and looked in Helga's direction too. "I admit she's a tough nut to crack. I can't really figure her out." He confessed. "Luka, I've known her since I was three. I still can't figure her out, so don't expect yourself to be able to within a few days." Arnold said, feeling his headache throb inside his skull. _I thought it would be gone after yesterday._ He thought in annoyance and massaged his temple.

"I'm still gonna give it a go… So, you don't have any advice?" Luka asked. Arnold shrugged. "Not really…" he answered and Luka snapped in disappointment. "Oh, well. Thanks anyway. Wish me luck." He said, stood up and walked towards Helga's table. "Good luck my ass!" Gerald hissed and slapped Arnold's head. "Ow! Gerald, my headache!" he reminded him and turned to scowl at him. "_This_ is where Dark Arnold is supposed to come out and _stop_ Cowboy Casanova from moving in on his girl!" Gerald whispered, but Arnold just rolled his eyes. "Don't you start that again. There is no _Dark Arnold_."

Gerald growled. "Shine, eyes, dammit!" he cursed and patted on Arnold's temples, trying to force Dark Arnold to come out. "Stop that!" the normal Arnold ordered though and slapped Gerald's hands away. Gerald looked over Arnold's shoulder and noticed Luka talking with Helga. "Look!" he hissed and forced Arnold to turn around. Arnold froze at the way Luka was smirking at Helga. A frown came upon his face and his headache throbbed again, but he ignored it.

_Fuck._ Helga had thought as soon as she saw Luka approaching her. She had a bad feeling that he was going to ask her to the dance and now he was. "I'm sorry, but I'm not even sure if I want to go to the dance." She lied. She _always_ went to the dances; they were fun, even if it meant having to dress up to meet the dress code. She and Phoebe had already gone out for a short shopping spree and each found a dress; Helga had even found a very elegant one she liked and was looking forward to wearing. She had been in a good mood that day so Phoebe had managed to convince her to let her give her a makeover before the party. Helga didn't care for makeup, but Phoebe looked so much forward to it, so how could she refuse?

"Oh, come on, Helga. It could be fun. I'd really like to get to know you better and someone told me this could be the perfect opportunity." Luka said. Helga noticed Rhonda's hateful stare over Luka's shoulder. "I have a feeling that someone is regretting her words…" she muttered to herself. "What?" Luka questioned, but Helga just shook her head. "Never mind. Look, Lukas - - "

"_Luka_."

"Luka, whatever, I'm not interested, okay? Or is my complete and utter indifference to you misleading?" Helga asked and stood up from her table, leaving Phoebe who was starting to feel bad for her. Luka wasn't giving up though and simply followed Helga as she went to put her trey in place. "Why don't you go and ask Rhonda instead?" she suggested before he could say anything. "She's gorgeous and…" she continued and smirked at Luka. "Oh, let's call it _willing_."

Luka snickered. "See? That right there is why I'd rather go with you. You're a lot more fun."

"If snide comments is to your liking I still recommend Rhonda." Helga said and put her trey down before walking past Luka. She could feel that he was still following her though and when he said her name, she halted and turned to scowl at him. "I'm not interested!" she declared loudly, hoping that a blow to his ego would get him to stop following her. "What am I to you anyway? The Moah to your Alexander?"

Luka blinked in confusion and Helga just rolled her eyes. "Never mind. You're not my type; is that reason enough?" she asked and crossed her arms, noticing that several pairs of eyes were on them. Luka didn't seem to mind though, he was probably used to it she figured. "If I'm not your type then who is?" he asked and crossed his arms too. _What a joke!_ She thought and shrugged. "I don't know. The… opposite of you!" she insisted in anger and turned her back to him. "So short, pale and blonde?" Luka asked jokingly. She whipped her head around. "Pretty much!" she replied before opening the door and leaving the cafeteria.

"Whoa…" Gerald muttered and Arnold seemed just as shocked as he did. "Uh, I'll, uh… go and talk with her." Gerald said, stood up and followed Helga. _Why is he going to talk to her?_ Arnold wondered and looked at Phoebe who shrugged innocently. _Someday you're going to reveal your own secret, Helga…_ She thought and wondered why Gerald was following her too.

"Helga!"

"Oh, leave me - - Oh, hi, Gerald." Helga said when she had turned around and noticed that it was Gerald following her and not Luka. "What was that?" he asked her, and she quirked an eyebrow. "What? Luka kept asking and I lost my composure. That's nothing new." She said and crossed her arms. "I don't care about that!" he yelled. "It's more that last comment. Your type is short, pale and blonde? Hello!"

"Oh, come on. Arnold isn't short, he's _cute_. His skin isn't pale, it's cream-colored and he isn't… well, I guess I gotta give you blonde." Helga admitted with a shrug and a smirk. Gerald looked at her in incredulity. "Please don't smile like that when you're talking about my best friend." He pleaded and shivered visibly. "Oh, grow up." Helga joked kindly and continued through the hallway while Gerald watched her.

Ever since he had found out that she had feelings for Arnold, he had started noticing new things about her. She was still very boyish, but he had noticed some feminine sides to her as well. The way she walked for example; she would sway her hips naturally. He tilted his head to the side and smiled before she disappeared around the corner. His eyes then widened and he slapped his head roughly. _Whoa there! Eyes off!_ He scolded himself before walking back into the cafeteria.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's 2nd note: Yeah, no Dark Arnold in this one, sorry! There were other things I had to focus on in this chapter and all of a sudden I had reached the quota! And even went beyond it xD<strong>

**When Helga asks Luka if she's the "Moah" to his "Alexander", it's a reference to a song called "Oah" by Alexander Rybak. Basically, it's a song about how much he loves a certain girl and in the music video, he basically stalks her even though she keeps telling him to buzz off. I recommend watching it, it's funny xD**


	4. Misleading me

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned in this story.**

**They all belong to their rightful owner: Craig Bartlett.**

**Title: "Alter ego"**

**In the last chapter:**_** After Helga had put Arnold into the nurse's office, Gerald met her out in the hallway and after telling him about what had happened, they agreed it was time to visit Madame Blanche. While the gypsy never admitted anything, she told them that Dark Arnold, as she called the new personality in Arnold, will keep acting out as long as Arnold doesn't accept his dark side.**_

_**While Phoebe was leaning towards believing Helga's story, Arnold still insisted that voodoo didn't exist and his belief hadn't changed despite Gerald's claim. Luka, on the other hand, chose to ask Helga to the school dance, which she refused countless times, yet it seemed that the Greek hadn't given up just yet.**_

**Author's 1st note: Don't know what to say again; I'm **_**so**_** much fun lately! xD Enjoy the chapter :P**

**[Please notify me if you notice any grammar mistakes. This isn't my first language, so there's bound to be mistakes.]**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 4: "Misleading me"<span>

_Stubborn, persistent, obstinate…_ Helga cursed in her head as Luka followed her through the hallway. "Would you please give it up already?!" she shouted angrily. Luka just smirked at her though, waving his hands in surrender. "Ok, I totally get that you're annoyed. I would be too, but _please_ reconsider. I can't think of anyone else I'd rather go with than you." He apologized. Helga was flattered, but mostly annoyed and almost insulted. "I'm really not a pin-up girl who would look good next to you on the red carpet."

"Red carpet? I thought we were just going to the school dance together?"

"You know what I mean. Go with Rhonda, dammit."

"I don't _want_ to go with Rhonda! I want to go with someone who doesn't look like she's going to a movie premiere every day in school. Is it bad that I just want a normal girl for once?"

"I'm really not considered normal."

"Ok, then a girl who doesn't give a shit. I can see myself next to you, no matter what you wear." Luka insisted and Helga felt a bit more flattered. It wasn't something she was used to after all; being hit on or being complimented. "I don't see myself next to you, Luka. I told you you're not my type, but even that's a lie. I don't have a specific type. I just don't know what I want." She answered. "All I know is that I don't belong next to some male model."

"Interesting; I thought you didn't care for stereotypes?"

"What are you getting at?"

"You're talking as if you see me as something superior, but that doesn't seem like something you'd do." Luka pointed out and crossed his arms. Helga copied the action. "I don't see you as something _superior_, but I appreciate that you're trying to twist my mind into making me do what you want. I can relate to manipulation. Unfortunately, it's a technique I have mastered and so, it doesn't work on me." She said and decided that the conversation was over, and so it was. Luka could see in her eyes that it was time to give up, at least for now so he let her walk away.

_Damn._ Luka thought and pouted as he continued through the hallway. He wasn't truly disappointed though; talking to Helga always proved to be amusing. He had to wonder why no one else could see what a special gem she was, or maybe people did, but didn't dare trying to approach her. Either way, he was grateful not to have any competition; convincing her to go to the dance with him was a challenge enough in itself – he didn't have the odds in his favor.

While Luka continued one way through the hallway, Helga walked the other way. She was taking advantage of her long legs, stomping on the floor with every step she took. She was currently growling in frustration, her eyes cast downwards and not seeing where she was going. Before she knew what was happening, she bumped into someone and was about to fall back, until that someone grabbed her hand.

Helga gasped, but managed to readjust her feet so she didn't fall. She looked up at the person who was just as much the person who had bumped into her as he had rescued her. She felt both surprise, but lack of the same when she saw that it was Arnold. He smiled at her. "Dodged a bullet this time." He said and helped her stand straight. "Seems like everyone around me wants a piece of me." She muttered. "Is Luka still asking you to the dance?" Arnold asked with a different kind of smile, Helga couldn't recognize. "Yeah, he's fucking stubborn. Why me?"

"Because you're amazing?" Arnold suggested. Helga's eyes widened and for the first time this day, she looked into his eyes. _Bright…_ She observed, gulped and tried to pull her hand away. He didn't let go though. "Amazing can mean a lot of things." She pointed out and took a step back, but he just followed her. "I mean it in the most positive way though. I seem to recall you calling yourself amazing too once?" he questioned.

"When?"

"Back at FTI."

Helga gulped again. _He remembers that?_ She wondered, but it was a silly thing to wonder, how could he not remember? It was a turning point for the both of them; not only had they saved Arnold's neighborhood, Helga had even told him about her feelings for him. They had brushed it off as a heat of the moment thing, but she knew it wasn't. They hadn't spoken of it since and she considered that his way of rejecting her, because surely he couldn't be that dense?

"Yeah, well, that could also be considered in two different ways. I mean, what kind of nine year old dresses up, calls herself Deep Voice and - - "

"Saves a whole neighborhood even though she could have gotten rich of the whole deal? I seem to remember you giving me a very valid reason." Arnold interrupted and Helga suddenly felt something hit her back. She didn't have to turn around to know what it was; she knew it was a locker. She gulped again as he moved closer. "You even showed me too…" He whispered and her eyes widened again. _He isn't - - he wouldn't - - is he - - no way!_ Her thoughts were one big mess until the bell rang.

"H-Hear? The bell just rang." Helga said, thinking that would make Arnold pull away. "Ignore it." He ordered instead, his eyes closing. "B-But…" she muttered, staring at his eyelids getting dangerously closer.

"Hey!"

Both Arnold and Helga flinched at the booming voice and Arnold finally pulled away from Helga. They looked in the direction of the hallway monitor who was frowning at them. "Get to class before I write you a referral!" he ordered and Helga took the chance to scoot away. She started jogging down the hall, hoping that Arnold wouldn't follow her too closely and thereby noticing her flaringly red cheeks. _Was he going to kiss me? He was, wasn't he? How far does he plan to take this?_ She wondered and speculated even more if his acting out really was revenge.

* * *

><p><em>What… happened?<em> Arnold wondered during class and looked in Helga's direction. He remembered approaching her, talking to her, but then it felt like the memory stopped. It had happened less than an hour ago; how could he not remember? Pain shot through his skull again and he put his hand near his temple as if that could stop the agony. _Maybe I should go to a doctor… A headache shouldn't last this long. If this goes on, I'll end up popping painkillers like Skittles._

Luka was in deep thought too. He wasn't one to give up; he was still wondering how he could convince Helga to go with him to the dance. He was starting to wonder if a grand gesture would woo her, but he doubted that. He didn't even know much about her, about her interests and hobbies. Perhaps that was the best way to begin. He looked at her and noticed that she seemed, rather than being dazed, to be in deep thought like himself. "Penny for your thoughts?"

"You can pay a lot more than a penny." Helga retorted and Luka snickered. "True… Still though, you seem worried?"

"I'm not as worried as I am questioning someone's intentions towards me."

"Mine? I'd say I have been honest from day one."

"Not _yours_, you ego-centered buffoon."

"Maybe I could help?" Luka suggested and Helga finally looked at him. "How?" she asked. "Oh, come on; with my line of work, a sense of who wants to take advantage of me and who is genuine is a matter of life or death. Well, at least in the business." He pointed out and Helga had to admit that he did indeed have a point. "Yeah, you need to know if people actually like _you_ or your money." She stated and thought about it for a second. "Ok, give this a try: Someone you have bullied for as long as you have known them, but the person has never hated you for it, suddenly seems to take a shine to you. What's their intention?"

Luka hummed. "Sounds fishy. You sure this person isn't out to get revenge?" he suggested and Helga felt a lump grow in her throat. "That's what I was thinking too…" she admitted. "I can't give you a conclusive answer without knowing you or the person you're talking about well enough. But you're a smart girl; you'll figure it out on your own." He said. "I thought you didn't know me well enough?" she questioned. "I don't need to analyze you to know that you're smart." He answered with a smile and for once, she smiled back. "Flattery will get you nowhere."

* * *

><p>"The least you could do after I helped you is to reconsider." Luka insisted jokingly as he followed Helga to the cafeteria. "Should have known; no favor comes for free with your people." She said as she rolled her eyes.<p>

"Greeks?"

"_Models_."

"For that comment, I think it'd only be fair to reconsider." Luka said with a pout. "No!" Helga insisted once again, but this time in a more jokingly manner as she opened the door and held it open for him. She considered banging it against his forehead, even if only to see if he would still want to go with her. "How does one impress Helga Pataki…? With the Hungarian name."

"Oh, shut up!" Helga said and punched Luka's arm, successfully emitting a shriek from him. "My body is my work! Careful!" he warned and rubbed his arm. "Oh, so _that's_ how I get you to shut up." She observed and shook her fist at him. He took a step away from her. "Damn! My only weakness!" he joked and she laughed loudly. _Ok, so he's not a complete douchebag._ She thought as they went towards the cafeteria lady together.

"I don't get it." Rhonda declared to the girls around her. "Out of all the girls in the class, why Helga? I mean, I'd understand it at least a little bit if he went for _you_." She continued as she looked at Sheena who didn't seem to mind the comment. "Models are weird." Nadine stated nonchalantly as she stirred her coffee with the spoon. "Helga can be ever so charming as well." Lila insisted and Rhonda shot her a slanted, disbelieving look. "You've gotta be kidding." She said, but Lila shook her head. "It all depends on who she's around. She has bullied Arnold her whole life, but he still considers her his friend. I think he even likes her."

That caught Rhonda's attention. "_Likes_ her?" she questioned. "I'm just assuming." Lila explained, but everyone knew that Lila was a very observant girl. She noticed things others never did. Rhonda looked towards the door where Arnold and Gerald were. "Well, if Arnold likes Helga… I'm sure he'd like to ask her to the dance." She said and stood up from her chair. "Poor Arnold." Nadine muttered in Rhonda's wake. "A pawn on the queen's chessboard."

Arnold had been telling Gerald about his plans about going to the doctor to have his head examined when Rhonda approached them. "Hey, Arnold. A little bird told me you like Helga?" she asked and his eyes widened considerably. "What?! Who told you that?" he asked, hoping his shock looked mortified of the thought rather than the fact that it was true. "I just told you; a little bird." She responded. "Now, I think I have some information that might be in your interest."

"We know Luka's been asking Helga for the dance, Rhonda." Gerald interjected. "We also know she's been saying _no_ constantly."

"Yes, but things seem to have changed." Rhonda said, stepped aside and gestured towards Helga and Luka who were walking next to each other, Luka laughing at something Helga was saying. Arnold felt his shoulders slump at the sight. "But… No, wait. She loudly said that she wasn't interested." He pointed out, trying to think with his brain rather than his heart, but he had to admit that Helga didn't seem as disgusted in Luka's presence as she had yesterday.

"That was yesterday; _this_ is today." Rhonda said as if she knew what Arnold had been thinking and bopped her head towards Helga and Luka. Luka held the chair out for Helga and even though she rolled her eyes and made a snide comment about how she wasn't some fragile lady who couldn't sit on her own, she did in fact sit down and let him sit next to her. Gerald couldn't help himself; he took a step forward and looked expectantly towards Arnold's eyes. Arnold looked at Helga and Luka for a moment, his ears perking up so he could listen to their conversation.

"Come on, Helga, admit it; you're not having a horrible time with me right now." Luka said with a smile. Helga sighed. _No, I'm not miserable, but you're not Arnold._ She thought and smiled back at him. "Not having a horrible time isn't equal to having fun." She insisted. "Helga." She heard him say in a tone she hadn't heard before and she couldn't help but gaze at him in awe. He looked like a puppy at that moment. "Give me a chance… or are you scared?" he challenged with a boyish grin.

Gerald finally saw what he had waited for: Arnold's eyes flashing brightly. The blonde snarled for a moment before he started walking and Gerald's jaw almost dropped to the floor. _It's real. His eyes actually flashed!_ He thought and looked at Rhonda, momentarily wondering why she had even cared about Arnold's feeling for Helga, but then realized her ulterior motive. _A part of me hopes Helga goes to the dance with Luka just so Rhonda will be pouting for the rest of the week._

Helga considered Luka's suggestion for a moment, but decided to stick with her choice. Just as she was about to tell him that she heard steps behind her and when Luka looked up at something, she turned around to look as well. "Luka, I think it's time to give up. Helga has said no how many times by now?" Arnold questioned and looked at Helga with a somber smile on his face. She gulped when she noticed his eyes, but a part of her appreciated his help.

Luka frowned. He was pretty sure that Helga was at least considering it a moment ago, but now that ship had probably sailed. "Why do you care, Arnold?" he asked instead since he was genuinely curious. Arnold put his palm on the table in front of Helga and leaned down to get closer to Luka's eyelevel. "Because she's going with _me_." He answered and Helga couldn't hide her surprise. _When did he decide that?_ She thought and felt the feminist inside her roar in displeasure, but her girlish heart was swooning.

"Really? When did you ask her?" Luka asked in confusion and looked at Helga, but she wasn't looking at him. "Just now." Arnold answered on her behalf and smiled at her. "What do you say, Helga?" he asked. She quirked an eyebrow at him. "Oh, I don't know… Are you sure you're not going to pull an April Fool's on me like the last time you and I went to a dance together?" she asked with a smirk and couldn't help but lean a little closer to him even though she also turned her cheek to him as if playing hard to get.

"Hmm, depends on which part of it you're thinking about. I promise _not to_ throw you in the pool…" Arnold swore and leaned so close to Helga that his breath tickled her skin. "But I promise _to_ do the tango with you again."

Helga shivered at the reminder. Oh, how she regretted having been in her mischievous state back then so she couldn't enjoy being in Arnold's arms! At the chance of dancing with him again, she nodded at him. He smiled widely at her and she noticed his eyes turning dark for a moment. "Really?" he asked and she smiled back. "Yeah, sure… but nothing on the cheap, Football Head." She warned and saw his eyes flashing again. In the back of her mind, she wondered what it was exactly that triggered Arnold's dark side, but she didn't get to think about for too long before he grabbed her and swung her over his shoulder with such ease that she almost missed the process.

"Arnold!" Helga shrieked, but Arnold just started walking her as if she was a bag of potatoes; a very precious bag though. "I'm just gonna borrow you for a bit." He insisted even though she was slapping and banging on his back, demanding to be let down. "Do you mind, buddy?" Arnold asked as he neared the door and Gerald opened it with an amused grin. "Gerald, you traitor!" Helga bellowed as she was carried out of the cafeteria, but Gerald just shrugged innocently, an amused grin spread on his face.

In the meantime, Rhonda walked to a very stunned Luka and sat down next to him. "Boy, I hadn't seen that one coming. Who would have thought that shy Arnold could be so aggressive?" she wondered aloud in artificial wonder even though she was in fact rather shocked. She had her priorities straight though and her top one was to become Luka's date for the school dance. Luka frowned in disbelief. "I asked his advice on asking her out and now he asks her out himself? What kind of jerk does that?"

Rhonda frowned, feeling suddenly defensive of her classmate. "Arnold is not a jerk, Luka. He's the kindest boy I know. I guess he just… snapped?" she suggested, but then frowned at her own words. _Arnold doesn't snap… What was that anyway? That's a side to him I've never seen before._ She thought and looked curiously towards the door. _Why is he so much hotter all of a sudden?_

In the hallway, Arnold finally put Helga down on the floor. She shook her head and tried to blow her hair in place, but when that didn't work, her hand went through it. "Dammit, Arnold! I'm not a girl who usually cares about her appearance, but there's no reason to make me look like Rapunzel on a bad hair day!" she scolded, but then she felt something warm and moist against her cheek. The hand, which had been about to go through her hair once more, froze with her fingers tangled in the locks.

When Arnold moved back and Helga looked at him in awe, his eyes were dark green once more and that just made her blush all the more. "Thank you…" he said appreciatively and smiled his usual Arnold smile. She looked at him for the longest time, wondering how much of the real Arnold was in there at all. He seemed normal _now_, but only Dark Arnold would dare carrying her over his shoulder like that… right?

"Uh, s-sure. I mean, I should thank _you_. Maybe Luka will finally get the message now." Helga said and continued to comb through her hair, deliberately letting it fall in front of her face so she could hide the tomato-red color on it. Arnold snickered and looked around. _When did we get out here?_ He wondered, but shook it off. "Uh, maybe we should get back to the cafeteria?"

"Naw, since I'm already out, I'll eat somewhere else. It's not like the cafeteria is a five star restaurant." Helga answered and walked past Arnold. "Oh, sure. S-See you then." He said, waved at her and headed towards the cafeteria. She turned around to look at him. She blinked a couple of times, her mind pondering whether she really wanted to go through the idea in her head. _He did invite me to the school dance… whether it was to help me or because he really wanted to go with me doesn't matter; I still owe him, but still…_ She thought and she hadn't made a decision and yet she heard herself call his name. _Did I just call him?_

Arnold stopped and turned around, confirming that Helga had indeed said his name. "Um… would you… like to come along?" she asked, feeling more awkward than she should have. _Is Helga asking me to have lunch with her?_ Arnold thought and blinked in surprise. A wide grin spread on his face, a smile he tried to hide, but with little luck. "Sure." He said and jogged in order to catch up with her. She turned her back to him, successfully hiding her smile. "I meant what I said about nothing on the cheap, Arnold-o."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah, Phoebe even managed to convince to put on an _actual_ cocktail dress, so you'd better dress it up too."

"_You_? In a _cocktail_ dress? I don't remember the newspaper mentioning anything about pigs flying."

"Oh, shut up!"

* * *

><p>By the time Arnold and Helga were back at the school, Gerald was waiting for them in the hallway. When he saw them, he interrupted the amusing conversation they had been having since leaving the café. "Hey, Helga. Mind if I borrow Arnold for a moment?" he asked, his words rolling in over each other quickly. Helga managed to blink once before Gerald had already grabbed Arnold's arm and was pulling the reluctant boy with him. "Sure." Helga answered in confusion before heading inside the class.<p>

"Gerald! What are you doing? Helga and I were _talking_! Not yelling, but _talking_. Why did you interrupt us?" Arnold asked in anger and Gerald finally let go of him only to grab his shoulders instead. "Did you really ask her to the school dance?" he questioned and Arnold blinked; a small tint of red spreading on his cheeks. "Well… I-I think I did, I mean… She said yes, didn't she?"

Gerald's shoulders slumped. "How can you be unsure?" he asked and Arnold shrugged. "My memory is lacking, I admit…"

"How much do you remember?"

"Uh… I remember Luka bothering Helga… I remember, uh… talking to them and… that Helga and I went outside where she thanked me and asked me to join her for lunch."

"That's all you remember? You don't remember throwing Helga over your shoulder like if she was Santa's bag of gifts and strolling off with her _in_ the cafeteria in front of _everyone_?" Gerald asked, his brown eyes widening with each word. Arnold's blush intensified. "I did _what_?!" he cried and Gerald shushed him. "You _did_! And you not remembering just proves what I told you! You _are_ under the influence of magic, voodoo, whatever! Everyone's been talking about that exit all through lunch!"

"B-But I don't remember doing that at all! How can - - "

"Well, well." A female voice said and the boys turned to see Rhonda standing next to them with her arms crossed and a satisfied smirk on her lips. "If it isn't the knight in shining armor who carried his princess off in his arms in the least princely fashion? Quite a display, Arnold. I have to admit, I didn't think you'd have the balls to do that and even to _Pataki_. Did she slap you once you were outside?"

"N-No, she didn't - - "

"No, of course she wouldn't. She seemed to like it quite a bit. She was squealing like a pig, but that smile on her face is unmistakable. Where did you two go afterwards? Did the princess invite her prince to her castle to _consume_ their agreement? Or perhaps she left it with a kiss and is saving the rest for the actual party?"

Arnold blushed when he remembered feeling Helga's skin against his lips. He put a hand to his mouth, blushing anew. _I didn't do that… Did I do that? I did that! Why didn't she slap me?_ He wondered and forgot Rhonda. Gerald didn't though. "If _anyone_ is acting like a spoiled princess around here, it's _you_, Rhonda." he said in anger. People knew he and Helga didn't hate each other anymore so him protecting her wasn't a shock as such, but no one knew the extent of their sudden friendship and so, Rhonda gawked at him for talking back at her.

"Seems like Arnold's not the only knight on a white horse… What is with you boys lately? First Luka, then Arnold and now _you_, Gerald. I thought you were still crushing on Phoebe?" Rhonda asked, the smirk returning to her face. Gerald frowned, thanking heaven that his skin was too dark to create a noticeable blush. "None of your business."

"Arnold, your taste in women is flawed, but I'm thankful. Luka finally asked me to go with him to the dance." Rhonda said, obviously losing interest in Gerald. Arnold frowned at the comment and Gerald noticed a small shine in his eyes as he looked at Rhonda. "Asked you? More like he _settled _with you." He said and Rhonda's mouth went into an O-shape. "Arnold, you - - "

"Would you mind your own fucking business already?!" the unmistakable sound of Helga's booming voice could be heard from inside the classroom. Rhonda and the boys turned to look towards the door and Gerald subconsciously noticed that the shine in Arnold's eyes didn't disappear. Arnold seemed to forget, or at least stop caring, about Rhonda and walked towards the classroom.

Inside the classroom, Helga was scowling deeply at some of her classmates who were standing around her like vultures. "Helga, you gotta admit that was an ever so interesting display of affection in the cafeteria! When did you and Arnold start dating?" Lila asked; her hands folded near her chest. "Display of _what_?! Arnold just asked me to the dance!" Helga yelled. "_And_ carried you off into the sunset!" Curly declared manically. "What sunset?" Helga bellowed. "It's still noon!"

"Come on, this can't be the only thing that's happened between you. The way he looked at you, Helga, was like if you were the most breathtaking creature in the world!" Nadine said; green with envy, but with a huge smile on her face. Helga almost blushed, but she forced the feeling away. She turned to look at Luka, remembering how it was he, who had shot her the first comment once she had walked inside. "This is _your_ fault."

"How is it my fault?" Luka questioned. "Why couldn't you just have accepted a no to begin with? Why are you so obsessed with me?" Helga asked. "_Obsessed_. Who is the ego-centered buffoon now?" Luka asked with a sneer.

"_Hey_." Arnold said and walked towards the small crowd of peers and stood near Helga. "Luka, give it up already. You're starting to look pathetic." He said and crossed his arms. At his words, Helga looked at his eyes and noticed the shade in them. Luka though, simply crossed his arms too. "I just thought Helga should know that I don't care for liars." He said. "Liars?" Arnold questioned. "Helga hasn't lied about anything; I didn't ask her about the dance until lunch. She had no idea that I'd ask her so don't you put this on her."

"I'll put it on _you_ then. Why didn't you tell me you were gonna ask her when I asked for your advice?"

"I wasn't planning on asking her back then."

"Yesterday?" Luka questioned incredulously, but Arnold just nodded. "You know what?" Luka asked. "I'm starting to think that _you_ only asked her to save her from me and Helga only said yes to have a proper excuse of saying no to me."

Both Arnold and Helga looked like they had just been slapped. While the shine in Arnold's eyes disappeared, Helga's eyes intensified. "Phoebe, did you ask Luka about that thing we talked about?" she asked in a seething voice while Phoebe's much gentler one could be heard behind her. "Uh, n-no. I never got a chance to - - "

"Well, I'm answering for him now. Switch seats with him." Helga ordered and Phoebe knew better than to argue with her. "Switching!" she declared in a soft voice and grabbed Luka's bag from his desk. Luka turned around, bellowing a keening voice in confusion, while Gerald snickered at the display. Phoebe looked like very cute pocket thief in his opinion; she looked even sweeter when she smiled innocently at him as she carried the bag to her desk.

Luka's eyes went from Phoebe to Helga. "You're _kidding_. What are you; the queen of the class?" he asked in disbelief and stepped dangerously closer to her. "Rhonda's the queen, _I'm_ the fucking soldier. Get outta my face." She ordered and stepped back. Luka huffed with a grunt and walked past her, his shoulder bumping into hers. Within a second, Arnold's elbow connected with Luka's back and the boy groaned at the shot of pain in his spine. Luka just continued his way to his new Helga-appointed seat, deciding that starting a fight wouldn't be in his interest as a model, even if it was tempting.

Helga looked at Arnold in shock; his eyes had started to flash again, but the shine disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. She smiled in wonder. "I must say, I'm starting to like this side of you." She admitted and he looked at her in confusion. "Oh, uh, thanks." He said, silently wondering what she was talking about as he scratched his head.

"Dude!" Sid said and slapped Arnold's shoulder. "When did you turn cool? Is it true; does love really change a man?" he asked teasingly and flashed his eyelashes at Helga who pushed him away from her. Before Arnold could say anything or even start blushing, the teacher walked into the room and asked them to sit down.

Just as Arnold smiled at Helga, she saw Phoebe scooting through their classmates with her bag over her shoulder and she smiled at the both of them. Arnold quickly sat down and so did the girls. The teacher shot them a questioning look. "Miss Heyerdahl, your seat is not by the window, is it?" she asked and Phoebe looked at Helga, silently asking what to tell her. "Luka and I agreed that we were distracting each other too much." Helga answered and heard a snort from Luka. "_She_ decided."

"Well, I agree with Miss Pataki. Mr. Mikos, you seem like a very talkative person and while I usually admire such a skill, it's not one I appreciate during my classes. Wise choice, Miss Pataki." She complimented. Helga turned to stare at Arnold who seemed just as shocked as she did; this teacher wasn't known for her compliments and especially not of Helga. "The newspaper hasn't just declared pigs flying, Arnold." Helga said and he was already snickering. "Snowballs have been reported in Hell too."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's 2nd note: I wasn't actually planning to turn Luka all bitchy at the end, but, meh, it works xD<strong>

**Also, we don't have hallway monitors in Denmark, so all the knowledge I have of them is from "South Park – Stick of truth". Did I misunderstand something about how it works?**


	5. He's about to pull me in

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned in this story.**

**They all belong to their rightful owner: Craig Bartlett.**

**Title: "Alter ego"**

**In the last chapter:**_** Luka hadn't given up on getting Helga as his date for the dance, but Helga was as stubborn as he was. That didn't mean she couldn't ask for his advice though and subconsciously, she started leaning more towards liking him after his answer.**_

_**When Rhonda figured out that Arnold liked Helga, she quickly used it to her advantage and shoved him towards Helga and Luka in the cafeteria. Under the influence of his curse, Arnold asked Helga to the dance, which she accepted.**_

_**Once the blondes were back they were met with a mountain of questions from their classmates, especially from Luka who felt betrayed by Arnold's change of heart.**_

**Author's 1st note: I don't know what to say! Enjoy! :D**

**[Please notify me if you notice any grammar mistakes. This isn't my first language, so there's bound to be mistakes.]**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 5: "He's about to pull me in"<span>

Helga had a frown on her face and Phoebe sighed once more. "Helga, please relax your features or else the make-up will look strange on you." She said, but Helga just groaned. "Make-up will look strange on me, no matter how many magazines and quizzes you make me do to figure out what would suit me the most, Phoebs. I'm not a make-up doll." She insisted and Phoebe sighed. "You're not a make-up doll and I never called you one." She said and started pouting.

Helga scowled deeply at the sight of Phoebe's puppy eyes. "Oh, how I regret teaching you that trick! Fine, fine, _fine_! Do whatever you want!" she said and Phoebe bounced happily before continuing putting the carmine red lip-gloss on Helga's mouth. Usually Phoebe wouldn't force Helga to do something against her will, but Phoebe knew Helga well enough to know that she was mostly complaining because she figured she should. Helga was more curious about these things now that they were older, but the tomboy in her was cringing at the thought. Phoebe just wanted to make sure that Helga gave everything a chance before she decided which she saw fit.

"Did Gerald ask you to the dance yet?" Helga asked once she felt the brush leave her lips. She could hear Phoebe sigh. "_No_, for the hundredth time, Helga. You're the only one with a date here." She answered and Helga opened her eyes to see what she was doing. "A date… I really do have a date with Arnold." She mumbled, shortly forgetting about Phoebe. When she noticed the silver eye shadow in the short girl's hands, she frowned though. "Lip-gloss, mascara _and_ eye shadow?" she questioned.

"Would you rather want eyeliner?" Phoebe asked and at first, Helga was about to give a roaring no, but then thought it through. _Maybe eyeliner would be less girly than eye shadow…_ She thought and then nodded. "Actually, yes. That way my eyes will at least be _black_ and not glittery." She said and Phoebe thought about it for a second before agreeing. "It would suit you more." She stated and grabbed the liquid eyeliner on the table behind her. "Isn't that taking a big risk? Using a liquid one, I mean." Helga questioned and Phoebe cocked a curious eyebrow. "How do you know?"

"… Logic." Helga insisted and Phoebe shook her head in amusement. "Liquid looks better and I promise I've been practicing." She swore and leaned towards Helga. The blonde closed her eyes, took a deep breath and then froze completely. If she had to do this, she might as well do it properly. "It tickles!" she announced though, forcing herself not to cringe at the feeling. "I know, I know, but you have to stay still." Phoebe ordered and Helga did as told. _How do other girls do this every day?!_

"There we go." Phoebe declared after a few minutes and Helga blinked. "It's itchy…" She muttered and moved her hand towards her eye. Phoebe grabbed her wrist tightly. "Don't you _dare_." She warned with her best Helga impression and the real Helga snickered. "Ok, ok." She said and moved away from Phoebe to look at the mirror. Her eyes widened and they already seemed bigger than usual thanks to the cosmetics. "The wonders of make-up…" she muttered in disbelief and turned her face around to see it from every angle. "I thought that cat-like look was hard to do?"

"It is. That's why I practiced. I always thought that it'd suit you. You've always been more of a cat than a dog." Phoebe explained as she packed the make-up into her purse. "What does that mean?" Helga asked and Phoebe simply smiled at her. "While you are loyal like a dog, you follow your own mind like a cat. If people get too close to you, you'd rather run than lean into their touch. You trust few to no people and no one ever knows what you're thinking about."

Helga frowned, but couldn't argue against Phoebe. "Don't tell me there's a dog way to do eyeliner too?" she asked sarcastically. "There is. The shape is cast more downwards." Phoebe replied and the blonde shot her a slanted look. "Criminy, how about a turtle version?" she asked as she smoothed her dress down her body. "Is a turtle-neck for a blouse not enough?" Phoebe replied sarcastically and smiled at the sight of Helga's dress. "It really does suit you."

The dress was Tyrian purple and made of chiffon. A sheath hung down the back from the one sleeve it had, which was above the right shoulder. Something that resembled a pageant ribbon traveled down from the shoulder to the left side of the waist. The fabric on the ribbon was decorated with small silver palliates. The chest part was ruching, but turned smooth near the waist and traveled elegantly down to the floor. A cut was made halfway on the left thigh and gave the sophisticated look more of an edge.

Helga smiled. "I never thought I'd wear _purple_. Well, I've worn the occasional coat, but I've never worn a full purple outfit." She stated as she touched the soft fabric. "Tyrian looks good on you though. It's a warm color and yet cool like you." Phoebe teased and Helga blew a raspberry at her. "Should we get going or what?" she asked and walked past her and out of the room. Phoebe followed her with a giggle and grabbed her coat on the way.

* * *

><p>"She said nothing on the cheap and yet she refused to let you pick her up?" Gerald questioned as he and Arnold walked towards the school. Arnold readjusted his black tie nervously. "You know Helga; I guess she didn't want to answer to that stereotype." He answered and readjusted his tie again, a frustrated scowl on his face. "Would you relax already? I think don't think Helga cares whether your tie is perfectly straight or not." He said and waved Arnold's hands off, but they returned to the tie immediately. "I don't know what else she means about nothing on the cheap. It's not like we're paying to attend the dance or for the drinks there…"<p>

"I think she just means to act like the gentleman you already are."

"Yeah, the part of me I can control…" Arnold muttered and shook his head. "I still have a hard time believing there really is a side of me that would do those things - - "

"Uh-uh!" Gerald warned and pointed at Arnold, slapped his hand away from the tie and pointed at him again. "I _just_ got you into believing me, don't you dare change your mind again. Next time, I'll take a picture of your eyes or something so you can see it for yourself."

"Next time… N-Now that I know that personality is there, I'll just try to avoid it. Should be easy enough; it's part of myself, isn't it?"

"Madame Blanche said the only way to get rid of it is to accept it's there."

"How can I possibly accept that there's a part of me that's rude, aggressive and - - "

"Unbelievably sexy?" Gerald questioned. Arnold's eyebrows furrowed and Gerald waved his hands in panic. "Not to _me_, you idiot! But you should have seen the way Rhonda looked at you in the cafeteria. Girls have always had a thing for bad boys."

"Not Helga and she's the only one I care about." Arnold insisted and finally let his tie hang wherever it decided to. Gerald thought about his words for a moment. _Maybe not… Helga likes Arnold for his gentle and kind nature, so maybe she really doesn't like his dark side. I'm not even sure what I think about Dark Arnold and Helga admitted she didn't know either._ He thought and sighed.

Arnold looked back at Gerald as they walked into the gym. "Regretting not asking Phoebe to go with you?" he questioned and Gerald frowned at him. "I just can't." he muttered. "Gerald, the ladies' man is afraid of asking a girl out?" Arnold teased with a small smirk. "Phoebe's not just any girl, you know that." Gerald insisted.

"And that's exactly why you should have asked her."

"Says the guy who only has a date because his _dark_ side asked her."

Arnold frowned at Gerald's comment, partially because it was true and because it meant that he wasn't sure how to act around her. Helga had said yes to _Dark Arnold_ as Gerald had said Madame Blanche called his alter ego, so did that mean she preferred him to the real Arnold; the personality he believed was the true one. The thought made him feel sad; how was he supposed to know which Arnold Helga liked? Moreover, did it even matter if they were both him?

Arnold groaned and massaged his scalp. _My headache is getting worse…_ He thought and felt Gerald massage his shoulder. "I think your headache has something to do with the curse."

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it; your brain is fighting against this new personality while the personality tries to stay in there."

"… You're saying there's not enough room for the both of us?"

"_Both of us_, he says." Gerald muttered to himself before looking at Arnold again. "Dark Arnold _is_ you. His not a different person who's trying to take over your body."

"And yet it's something I can't control and I can't even remember what I do whenever _he_ takes over." Arnold pointed out and let his hand fall to his hip. Gerald couldn't argue against that so he didn't. "Ok, so maybe practicing controlling him could be a good start. It seems like he only appears when you're around Helga so tonight's a perfect chance." He said and looked through the gym. "Huh. Rhonda's wasn't lying. She and Luka really did go together."

Arnold looked in the same direction as Gerald and saw Rhonda and Luka dancing together. While Rhonda seemed to be talking about something, Luka had a polite smile on his face. "You were right; he _is_ settling. He looks bored outta his mind." Gerald observed with a snicker. Arnold looked at him questioningly. "You told Rhonda that Luka was settling with her, or _Dark Arnold_ did." Gerald explained and Arnold's eyes widened. "I said that to her? How mean." He stated with an embarrassed frown and Gerald rolled his eyes. "It's true though."

Arnold frowned at Gerald's comment, but forgot all about it within a second when his eyes caught sight of something. His eyes widened and he barely felt his own hand pushing at Gerald's shoulder, coaxing him into turning around. Gerald turned and his eyes widened as well. Helga and Phoebe had just walked into the gym, both girls smiling and chatting with each other, but that wasn't what the boys were looking at. "Oh, whoa… Now I kind of wish I had asked Phoebe." Gerald admitted and nudged his elbow at Arnold. "Lucky you."

Arnold almost smiled, but his mouth didn't seem to be capable of getting out of its shocked state. He watched as Helga combed her fingers through her ponytail, seemingly questioning Phoebe if it looked ok. Because Helga had tied it like that while it was wet, it had gotten wavy while drying. She didn't mind it, but she asked Phoebe about it anyway, who assured her it looked beautiful and _not_ too girly.

Phoebe was the first of the girls to notice the boys. She waved at them and nudged her elbow at Helga who noticed them. She waved before the boys walked towards them. "Phoebs, I can't do this." Helga whispered, forcing the smile to stay on her face. "Yes, you can. Don't be such a _girl_." Phoebe hissed, knowing it would hit a nerve in the tomboyish girl. Helga shot her a dirty look, knowing full well that she had just been played, but knew it was true.

"You weren't kidding. Phoebe really did convince you to put on an evening dress. You… look really beautiful. Purple suits you." Arnold complimented. "Up-bup-bup, _tyrian_, if you ask the Rhonda wannabe over there." Helga corrected and bopped her head towards Phoebe who gasped in mock astonishment. "But thank you." Helga added, but then frowned when she noticed something Arnold's neck. He looked at her curiously, as she moved closer. _N-No way… Is it actually crooked?_ He wondered before she snickered. "Tell me; how many times have you readjusted that tie?"

"Huh?" Arnold muttered and tried to look down, but all he saw was Helga's hands moving to his neck. He thought she was going to readjust it, but instead she snuck her hands inside the noose and pulled until it loosened around his neck. He inhaled sharply, feeling air travel easier into his lungs. "Thanks. I didn't even notice." He said as she tightened it just a bit so that it wasn't hanging loose, but wasn't strangling him either. "Sheesh, Football Head. Nervous much?" she teased, but when he looked away in shyness, she realized her joke was real.

Helga almost blushed until she heard voices behind her. She turned and saw Luka and Rhonda standing next to each other, Rhonda with her arm wrapped around Luka's arm. Luka's eyes widened at the sight of Helga and his mouth opened. Only a few seconds went by before Arnold stepped forward and forced Luka's jaw to close jokingly. Helga looked at Arnold's eyes, expecting to see a shine in them, but the dark coloring in the gym was making it hard to see. _I'm guessing that was Dark Arnold's doing though._ She thought and smirked at him.

"Phoebe, I must say you've done a splendid job in painting and putting Helga in a costume. My, my, you almost look like a real little lady, Helga." Rhonda said with a seething sarcastic smile on her lips. "And Rhonda, a vision in black as always; a very creative way to warn people about your soul." Helga retorted and felt Arnold holding back a snicker next to her. Luka bit on his lower lip and looked away innocently, while Rhonda's eyes turned murderous. "I was trying to compliment you, you miserable - - "

"A compliment from Rhonda Wellington Lloyd is hardly a compliment. Rhonda, go back to the dance floor with your…" Helga said and looked at Luka with a smile. "Trophy date." She finished. Luka rolled his eyes at Helga's comment, but the smile didn't leave his face. Rhonda, on the other hand, huffed angrily and turned around, forcing Luka to follow her. "You look good, Helga." Luka quickly whispered before he was pulled away.

Helga's eyebrow shot upwards at Luka's comment. "Is that a sign he hasn't given up yet?" she questioned and Gerald shrugged. "Who cares if he hasn't changed his mind as long as you don't?" Arnold questioned with a crooked smirk. Helga looked at his eyes, but the dim lightning made it impossible to know for sure so she simply shrugged. "Guess not."

"Helga." Arnold said and gestured for her to come closer. _Yeah, that's the dark one._ She thought at the sight of his smile. She leaned closer and his breathing sent a comfortable shiver down her spine. "Remember what I promised you?" he whispered and her eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "Uh…" she said and moved her hand scratch her ear since it started itching due to his breath. "I don't think I do - - "

Before Helga could finish her sentence, Arnold grabbed her hand and swung her under his arm. She gasped, but her feet turned obediently and she let him dip her back just a little bit. Then she remembered his words when he smiled at her. "Arnold, they are _not_ playing a tango right now!" she pointed out in disbelief, her face turning hot at the thought of the promise. "Well then." He said and moved his nose to hers. "We could always warm up."

_Bright eyes. Definitely bright._ Helga observed even though she couldn't confirm it. "Warming up? Isn't this song a little slow for that?" she pointed out and felt her girlish heart scream at her: _'Why are you complaining?!' I'm not complaining._ Helga insisted in her mind. _I just don't know how to deal with this Arnold._

"Perfect to warm up with, right? We'll start slow." Arnold said, pulled Helga back up and swayed slowly with her. She looked at him for a moment until she looked towards the floor with a smile. "Don't tell me you need to look at your feet in order to know where they're going?" Arnold asked jokingly and she gasped at him. With a rough jerk, she forced him to twirl under her arm and she dipped him. "Don't play cocky with me, Shortman." She warned. "I'll win every time."

Arnold's eyebrows lifted at Helga's comment and she could have sworn his smile turned sheepish. She led him back up and danced slowly with him again. "You're probably right." He observed after a bit before twirling her slowly under his arm. She studied him for a bit, noticing that his smile was very familiar. _Normal._ She decided in her mind and let her eyes travel towards Phoebe and Gerald who had started to dance. She smiled brightly. "Were you planning this?"

"What?"

"Now that you and I have left Phoebe and Gerald alone, it seems like they feel obligated to dance together." Helga pointed out. Arnold turned them around so he could look in their friends' direction and he smiled. "That's just an unexpected bonus." He said and looked back at Helga. She wanted to look away in shyness, but forced her eyes to stay on his. _Don't look away - Don't look away._ She ordered herself, but that turned difficult when Arnold twirled her under his arm again. She had expected to see his eyes again soon, but instead she felt his chest against her back and realized that he had her in a tight hug even though they were still swaying slowly.

_Oh, God…_ Helga thought slowly and looked down at their arms. They were pressed closely to her chest in a seemingly affectionate manner, but she couldn't help but praying that he wouldn't feel her heart beating hard against her ribcage. _Don't notice – Don't notice._ She pleaded before she felt him rest his chin on her shoulder. She forced herself not to flinch, but she couldn't help the small shiver. _If only I knew which Arnold, this was!_

Arnold, who had both of Helga's hands in his grasp, lifted her arms and turned her around until she was facing him again. Her eyes were glued to his as he let his hands fall slowly down her body and rest on her lower back. Helga, who wasn't at all sure where to put her hands, ended up letting them fall casually, but slowly down to his shoulders. They were standing so unbelievably close and her heart almost started hurting from beating so fast.

Arnold smiled at Helga again and rested his chin on her shoulder. One of her hands ended on the back of his head while the other traveled from one shoulder to the other. While trying to make sure she didn't step on her dress and ruin this extraordinarily perfect moment, she noticed that her heart was out of synch, but how was that possible? Without thinking first, she put her hand between their chests and Arnold gulped in surprise. She sighed with a smile. "I thought… I thought it was only my heart that was trying to escape my ribcage."

Arnold didn't say anything at first, probably out of embarrassment Helga figured, but then he sighed in surrender. "How could it not…? This is the closest I've ever been to you." He said and held her just a little bit tighter for good measure. She gulped when she felt her pelvis brush his for a short moment, but then laughed breathlessly. "Weren't we pretty close when we did the tango in fourth grade?" she asked and he chuckled. "I guess, but I didn't have my priorities straight back then."

"What does that mean…?" Helga questioned, earnestly confused. Arnold felt his bravery disappear, but he was this close. _She said yes to come here with me… It must mean something, at least a little something, right…? Yes, I'm gonna try. Just… dive straight into it._ He encouraged himself and took a deep breath. "Arnold?" Helga questioned worriedly and leaned back to look at him. He looked at her throat, afraid of what he'd see in her eyes. _Just tell her. Hiding is not going to change anything._ He reminded himself and finally looked at her.

Helga's eyes were shining in wonder and Arnold forgot what he had been planning to tell her. He felt something pulling him towards her and he was pretty sure it wasn't an earthly force doing that. He saw her looking at him in awe, but then she leaned closer to him as well. They moved closer and closer until their faces were just a few inches apart only to jump back in shock when a screeching sound keened through the speakers in the gym.

At first, the blondes just put their hands to their ears, trying to save them from the horrible sound, but once it faded they looked away from each other in embarrassment. While Helga simply put her hand to her heart, wondering if they had been about to do what she thought they had been about to, Arnold _cursed_ in his head. _Not again!_ He thought and scowled towards the stage where the principal was currently speaking into the mic.

The blondes barely managed to look at each other before they saw Phoebe and Gerald walking towards them. _Save me!_ Helga thought in embarrassment and grabbed Phoebe's hand with a shaky smile. Gerald put his arm over Arnold and both ravenettes pulled their own blonde away from the other. "Were you just trying to kiss Helga?" Gerald asked in a whisper, noticing the deep scowl on Arnold's face. "_Trying_ being the keyword. I can't believe we were interrupted _again_." He hissed and Gerald wondered if this was the real Arnold speaking or not. Until he realized what Arnold just had said. "Whoa-whoa-_wait_! When did you try before?"

"Uh, at school Thursday morning."

"What happened then?"

"Some dumbass hallway monitor decided to bust us."

_Dark Arnold._ Gerald stated at the boy's last comment. "But does that mean you've changed your mind?"

"About?"

"About Helga! You were so gung-ho about trying to forget her, but now you're flirting, trying to kiss her and inviting her to the school dance. Are you hitting on her or is your brain leaking?" Gerald asked and the only reason for his last comment was that Arnold had begged Gerald to stop him a long time ago if he tried anything with Helga. Arnold seemed to think deeply about Gerald's question. "I want to… and I think maybe, just _maybe_… Helga likes me too. Maybe she's started liking me again or she never stopped?"

"Whoa, wait. _Still_ liking…?"

"Oh, uh… I never told you this, but… Helga was Deep Voice." Arnold whispered. Gerald blinked once, twice, thrice before he shot Arnold a look of disbelief. "_What_?!" he hissed and the blonde boy hushed him. "It's a secret, but I figured maybe you could know now. It's so many years ago after all. She told me she did it because she liked me, well, she said _loved_ me, but - - "

"Wait, so Helga has _liked_ you since we were nine? Wait. She said she _loved_ you?" Gerald asked and saw a distinctive blush on Arnold's cheeks as he nodded. Gerald was sure Arnold's headache was infectious, because he felt rather dizzy all of a sudden. He only knew that Helga had liked Arnold since a year ago; she never mentioned anything about _loving_ him or for that long! _If Helga's been in love with Arnold for so many years…_ He thought and frowned determinedly. "If you _really_ like her, I think you should keep trying."

Arnold looked at Gerald in surprise. "Really?" he asked and Gerald nodded heavily. "I have a… _strong feeling_ that she likes you too. If she didn't, she wouldn't have come here with you. Let's face it, Helga would rather go alone than with someone she didn't like so go for it!" Gerald encouraged and held his fist out. Arnold grinned as they did their old handshake. "Wish me luck."

A bit further away from the boys, Helga and Phoebe had started talking as well. "This _Dark_ Arnold is really bold, Phoebe. I don't know how to feel!" Helga muttered in confusion. "Helga, you love Arnold, don't you?" Phoebe asked and at the reminder, Helga blushed slightly. "Y-Yes, I love the Arnold that I _know_. I don't know this new one! I don't know what to expect of him!" she insisted and looked towards Arnold and Gerald who were grinning at each other. "I mean, what is he telling Gerald right now? Are they planning how Arnold can woo me? That's _too_ typical boys! I'm not some prize to be won, I'm not a piece of meat."

"Arnold doesn't think of girls like that!"

"You're right; the Arnold we _know_ don't. What about this new flirtatious one?"

"Isn't he only flirtatious around you?" Phoebe questioned and Helga couldn't argue against that. "Ok, so maybe he has his eyes set on me, but _Dark Arnold_ is so… typical boyish. Arrogant, cocky, flirtatious - - "

"Helga, I think the only reason you're panicking is because you for once in your life might just be getting what you want. Yes, this is a new side to Arnold and you're scared because you don't know what to expect of the boy you used to think of as predictable. I get that, but if you ruin this for yourself, I nor _you_ will ever forgive you." Phoebe warned. Helga stared at the shorter girl in front of her for the longest time. "And let's be honest." Phoebe added and put her hands to her hips. "You could use someone who can challenge you."

Helga frowned at Phoebe's comment, but then snickered. "Ok, _fine_. I'll give this new personality a chance. I'm still not sure if I like it though." She insisted. Phoebe seemed about to make one last comment when another female voice came near them. "You two! Have you not been listening to the principal at all?!" Rhonda asked before grabbing their wrists and pulling them with her. "What are you doing?!" Helga asked angrily and wrestled her hand out of Rhonda's grip who turned to scowl at her. "We're supposed to be on in like ten minutes!" she reminded her. "The principal is about to announce us! Come on!"

Helga's eyes widened. She had completely forgotten that the girls in their class had been planning a small performance for this school dance. With everything going on this week, could you blame her? Rhonda let go of Phoebe's hand when she noticed that both girls were following her obediently now. "I hope you can dance in that dress and those shoes, Helga. You're not used to it after all." Rhonda commented and Helga smiled at her. "Don't you worry, Rhonda." She said. "Unlike you, I have some _actual_ dance moves planned rather than making my ass look like jelly by twerking it."

* * *

><p>"You don't think I scared her off, did you?" Arnold asked as he and Gerald looked around for Helga in the gym. "I can't find Rhonda either." A voice said and the boys turned to look at Luka who shrugged; he obviously didn't care too much. "I can't find Patty." Harold said once he had heard the boys as well and soon, the boys in their class had created a circle around each other, all wondering where their dates had gone. "Calm down!" Gerald said. "If they're all gone, something's going on. It can't be a coincidence."<p>

"But then _what_ is going on?" Sid asked, but the other boys just shrugged. "I went to get punch for Sheena and once I got back, she was gone. I didn't even think she liked punch." Eugene pointed out as he wrenched his sleeve, trying to get the same punch he had spilled on it earlier out. Stinky frowned. "Miss Lila asked me to get her some snacks and she was gone when I came back too." He told. Arnold's eyebrows knitted together thoughtfully as the boys shared the story about how their dates had disappeared. Arnold looked towards the stage where the principal was still talking. "You don't think they would be planning something like that?"

The boys looked towards the principal. "A speech?" Gerald questioned, but Arnold shook his head. "I'm not sure, but… I think trying to get closer to the stage might be a good idea." He explained and started to squeeze through the people on the floor. Gerald shrugged at the boys, but followed Arnold obediently and soon; the boys were all squashed together right in front of the stage. "What are you thinking exactly?" Gerald asked and Arnold hummed. "I'm not sure, but… I just have this feeling." He admitted.

"No offense, Arnold, but your sixth sense isn't very reliable. The rest of your senses aren't worth much to begin with." Gerald pointed out teasingly. Arnold stuck his tongue out at him, but that was all he did before he looked back at the stage, listening to what the principal was saying with only a half ear. "And now, we have a surprise for you all this evening." The principal said and Arnold perked up. "The girls from one of the classes are going to perform for you tonight."

"Told you!" Arnold said with a disbelieving grin and Gerald was gawking at the principal as well. "The girls are going to be singing a cover of the song, uh…" the principal said and looked at his hand. Luka rolled his eyes. "At least remember the song's title." He muttered and Arnold nodded in agreement. "_Bang-bang_ by Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj!" the principal continued, mispronouncing every single name and causing most students to snicker. Everyone started cheering though when the principal walked away and the lights dimmed.

"Oh, boy…" Gerald muttered and grinned boyishly when a spotlight appeared on a set of drums, Patty sitting on it with a smile on her face. Another spotlight appeared on Sheena who was holding a guitar in her arms. "I didn't know Sheena played guitar!" Sid said and his jaw fell in shock. "I didn't know Patty played drums!" Harold bellowed unhappily, but grinned as soon as the girls started playing.

"_She's got a body like an hourglass, but I can give it to you all the time_!" Rhonda's voice boomed in the speakers and she appeared on the stage. Arnold couldn't help rolling his eyes when she wiggled her hips, attempting to shake what little meat she had on her behind. He never understood the whole twerking thing; the move itself made skin looked like Flubber from the movie in his opinion. He looked at the other boys and noticed them hollering and Arnold simply shrugged. _I guess I'm different._

"_She's got a booty like a Cadillac, but I can send you into overdrive_!" Nadine sang and appeared on the stage too, clearly copying what Rhonda just had done, but with less enthusiasm. She felt more awkward than Rhonda did, but she had a stronger voice, Arnold noted and realized something. _Does that mean Helga will be singing too?_ He wondered and suddenly the performance got his attention to a completely new level.

Nadine and Rhonda kept singing, Sheena and Lila eventually joined them on the stage and Arnold whispered in Gerald's ear. "Where's Phoebe and Helga?" he wondered and Gerald shrugged, clearly enjoying the performance to the fullest. As soon as Arnold had asked, Phoebe and Helga appeared on the stage, Phoebe to the right and Helga to the left. They looked at the other girls who were singing, both girls holding their own mic towards their mouths, though Phoebe held hers closer than Helga did.

"_B to the A to the N to the G to the… B to the A to the N to the G to the, hey…_" Phoebe sang a little weakly, obviously very awkward with the whole situation, but smiling at Helga who lifted her mic to her sparkling lips. Arnold stopped breathing as she sang the next line, every other sound around them fading into silence. "_See, anybody could be good to you. You need a bad girl to blow your mind_!" Helga sang, earning a roar of applause for holding the note as long as she did.

The boys who knew Helga had all lost their jaws to the floor. "I didn't know Miss Helga could sing like that!" Stinky bellowed, the other boys either nodding or agreeing loudly. Gerald was amazed as well, but he noticed something in Arnold's eyes. Gerald's own eyes widened at the strong flash in Arnold's eyes, which made a solemn vow not to disappear anytime soon.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's 2nd note: I actually strongly dislike the original "Bang-bang" by Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj xD It's way too pitchy for me. I prefer Andie Case's version by <strong>_**far**_**! My true favorite version is by Craig Yopp though, but that's a male version so I couldn't use it in this scenario, dammit xD**

**I have a reference picture for Helga's dress. The actual dress is blue though, but I made it purple here. If you wish to see the dress, message me on YouTube or deviantArt. There's a link to both on my profile here :3**

**Song:**

**Andie Case – "Bang-bang" cover of: Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj**


	6. He is trying to have fun with me

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned in this story.**

**They all belong to their rightful owner: Craig Bartlett.**

**Title: "Alter ego"**

**In the last chapter:**_** Both blondes needed encouragement before the school dance and luckily, their best friends were able to provide it before they met at the school. In the dim light, it was almost impossible for both Helga and Gerald to confirm whether Arnold's eyes were dark or bright and both could only guess which Arnold was talking.**_

_**While Gerald has encouraged Arnold to finally go for Helga, Helga has admitted to Phoebe she wasn't sure how she felt about this new personality in Arnold; she fell for his gentle side back then after all.**_

_**To the boys' surprise, the girls in their class planned a small performance at the school dance and while Helga had the shortest line, she made the biggest impression. Especially on Arnold whose eyes, Gerald now didn't doubt, were bright.**_

**Author's 1st note: I'm sorry it took so long! D: I have no excuse – except it's almost Christmas… You figure out the rest ;)**

**Warning: REAL sexy chapter ahead; prepare yourself! xD**

**[Please notify me if you notice any grammar mistakes. This isn't my first language, so there's bound to be mistakes.]**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 6: "He is trying to have fun with me"<span>

_How was it Rhonda talked me into doing this?_ Helga thought as soon as she had left the stage. Rhonda was the one who had planned that the girls would sing this particular song at the dance about a month ago. Helga had been firmly against it, but finally caved in, mostly just to shut the princess up, but only on the condition, she would have the shortest line in the song. Rhonda had given her that, but the line had also been the hardest to sing on key. Helga knew Rhonda had chosen that one on purpose, so Helga had been practicing a lot more than she was likely to admit. She was pretty sure she nailed it, if the roaring applause she had gotten was anything to go by.

Helga simply smiled a little awkwardly when some people from other classes complimented her on the performance; she hadn't want to be part of it to begin with anyway. _Where the heck is Arnold?_ She wondered and then felt someone tap her shoulder. "Criminy, Football Head, I couldn't find you anywhere - - " she said as she turned around, but noticed that the boy behind her didn't have a football-shaped head. "Oh. Hey, Luka."

"That was _so_ good, Helga. I didn't know you could sing." Luka complimented and Helga smiled uncomfortably again. "Well, you've only known me for like six days, so how would you?" she wondered sarcastically and looked around, hoping to find the blonde she was looking for. "True." Luka said with a chuckle and looked around. "Where did your date go?" he asked and she frowned. "I was wondering the same thing. You boys were standing in the front so I figured I'd find him quickly, but…"

"I can't find Rhonda either." Luka said and Helga shot him a slanted look. "Something's telling me you're not trying very hard." She state and he chuckled again. "Busted." He admitted and she rolled her eyes before looking around again. "Standing here, talking to me, isn't going to help you find her."

"I figured four eyes were better than two."

"My eyes are trying to find _Arnold_, not the princess so I'm not going to be of much help." Helga reminded Luka, who frowned. "I'm still not sure I get it… I mean, a girl like you with a boy like him?" he wondered and she shot him a nasty look. "What do you mean?" she asked and he shrugged innocently. "I don't know. He's a nice guy, but isn't that all he is?" he asked earnestly and Helga bopped her head to one side. "That's what I'd think so too at first…" she said under her breath. "There's a lot more to him than meets the eye."

"Like what?" Luka asked and noticed Helga smiling a smile he hadn't seen on her before. "Like… you wouldn't think it when you see him, but he knows karate." She said thoughtfully and his eyes widened. "You're kidding." He said in surprise and she shook her head. "Nope. Also, he plays mouth harmonica really well. His home is filled with animals and, frankly, I think they are all homeless animals he has picked up and given a home. He even has a pet pig." She continued and Luka watched her as she continued to list a bunch of facts about Arnold. _Damn._ Luka thought with a sigh. _She's head over heels for that boy_.

Helga stopped talking when she felt a pair of hands on her eyes. She gasped and put her own hands atop of the strange ones and was about to force them away until she heard a familiar voice behind her. "Guess who." The voice whispered in her ear, sending a shiver down her spine.

Helga hummed thoughtfully. "Let's see…" she said and moved her arms backwards until her hands collided with soft strands of hair. "Soft, natural hair, currently slicked back." She observed, feeling the person behind her chuckle. She let her hands follow the hair on the head until she felt warm skin against her palms. "An unnatural wide head." She teased. "And based on the fact that my hands can't reach much further without bending my back, you're short too. This must be my very own Football Head."

Arnold let his hands fall and grabbed Helga's hands in his own. "Ding-ding-ding." He said with a chuckle. Helga turned her head to smile at him over her shoulder, refusing to show how embarrassingly nervous she was due to his attention. He smiled back at her, but noticed Luka in front of them and turned to look at him. "If you're looking for your own date, she's over by the punch bowl."

Luka's eyebrow shot up, clearly less than interested in actually finding Rhonda, but smiled nevertheless. "Thanks, Arnold. Have fun, you two." He said and waved as he walked away. "You too." Helga replied sarcastically and felt Arnold place his forehead on her shoulder and shake with silent laughter. Luka simply shot Helga a lazy smile before he continued his way towards Rhonda with heavy steps.

Helga turned her head and laughed together with Arnold. "I wonder if he _can_." Arnold muttered, earning a soft elbow to his stomach from Helga. "I feel a little bad for him." She admitted and felt him putting his chin back on her shoulder. "_You_? Sympathetic?"

"Oh, shut up." Helga said as she turned around and tickled Arnold's sides. He chuckled as she tickled him, but he quickly grabbed her wrists and stopped her. She laughed for a bit until she noticed the way he was looking at her. It made her gulp. He looked away and towards a speaker though when a familiar song came on and Helga felt herself shiver when he looked back at her with a grin.

"It's not a tango…" Helga pointed out in a mutter, but Arnold moved closer nevertheless. "We were warming up before, weren't we?" he asked. _I'd say I'm pretty warm already!_ She thought and was about to voice it, but then he turned her around in time with the music. She froze when his hands left hers and his voice tickled both her neck and her ear as he whispered. "_So hot, out the box._" He sang in synch with the music in one ear before moving to the other. "_Can we turn up the pace_?"

"Arnold!" Helga squeaked in slight annoyance, but he just chuckled and slowly wrapped his fingers around her wrists. He moved slowly in contrast to the upbeat music and Helga wanted to turn around to scowl at him for the weird feeling he was giving her, but she found herself unable to do anything else than what he led her to do. She felt his ankle push against hers and she followed him as he moved their left legs out in a circle until she was now forced to twist her body sideways.

Helga's arms were up in the air, courtesy of Arnold keeping them there, but then he moved them downwards and she looked up at them, her eyes following them like a hawk. Her left arm ended twisted over his shoulder, her hand colliding with the soft hair she had touched a minute ago in a much less sensual way. Arnold held onto the other hand, stopping its movement near her hip. "_Imma hold you down until you're amazed._" Arnold whispered again and Helga gulped, feeling her twisted leg start to shiver at the tense position, but perhaps also because the way Arnold was whispering in her ear. "_Give it to you 'til you're screaming my name_."

Helga wanted to curse, to gulp, to do _anything_ besides staring at Arnold stupidly. He kept wearing that smug, annoying, extremely arousing smirk on his face as his left hand traveled across her stomach and towards her hand on her hip. She let him take it and pull it until she started walking with it, around him and eventually ended up standing next to him. "_No escaping when I start_. _Once I'm in_ - - " he said and pulled her roughly towards him until their chests collided. "_I own your heart_."

_Oh, dear God!_ Helga could hear a high-pitched version of her own voice keen inside her head. "_There's no way you'll ring the alarm._" Arnold continued as he twisted their torsos to the side, their chests and pelvises gliding together like fitting puzzle pieces. "_So hold on until it's over_." He finished before pushing her back, still holding onto her hands and pulling her into his embrace again. She sneered a bit, embarrassed that she was being shoved around like some ragdoll, but mostly because how aroused she already felt from being this close to him.

Arnold leaned closer to Helga, forcing her to lean back until she felt a burn in her lower back. He glided her from left to right before letting her back up again and starting to walk between her legs. She stepped back in perfect synch with him, her eyes locked to his as if she could see every move he'd make in them. It wasn't truly until then, she noticed the very distinguished shine in them. She had figured it was _Dark Arnold_ a long time ago, but she could barely see any green in them behind the strong light.

_What's gotten him so worked up?_ Helga thought before Arnold kicked at her leg and she fell to the side. She was caught by Arnold's arm, mere seconds before her head would have collided with the floor. "Arnold, you're being kind of - - " she scolded, but then her eyes widened as she heard her younger self say the same words. This was no tango, but the way Arnold was looking at her definitely gave her a sense of deja-vu, which she wasn't sure was welcome or not. "_It's all right_." He sang, but then gave a low and honey-coated chuckle. "You're in good hands."

The blush Helga had felt growing on her cheeks now spread to her entire body. She was trembling, but felt no cold underneath the cloak of heat that was currently overwhelming her. Arnold swung her back up again and twirled her under his arm until she was standing in front of him with her back against his chest. "_Close your eyes, not your mind_." He sang and moved his hand up in front of her eyes, successfully blinding her. "_Let me into your soul_." He continued as he moved his free hand from her hip and across her stomach and chest, grazing her bow tattoo in the process. "_Imma work it till you're totally blown_."

_Ok, that's it. I'm fainting._ Helga thought and felt her knees buckle, but Arnold held her up with ease. The feeling of his hand ghosting over her half-bared chest sent a trailer of goose bumps all over her warm creamy skin. She felt hot and bothered, no doubt about that, but she was still so confused. _She_ was supposed to make _him_ feel like that, not the other way around! She was the dominant one, the one on top, the one who was supposed to decide what would and wouldn't happen. She hated being out of control; she didn't want to be jerked around.

Why was this so easy though? Why was it fun to let go and let someone else take the lead? Had Helga misunderstand herself? Wasn't she as strong and independent as she thought? Was she a sheep like every other girl she knew? Perhaps she was, because she suddenly noticed that she was facing Arnold again and they had moved a little further away from the dance floor.

Helga felt her hip locked into Arnold's again, but she also noticed that his smile seemed to have changed. He looked innocent, sweet and lovable all of a sudden and she sighed happily and in relief. His hand traveled to the back of her head, his fingertips playing with the hair, which was swaying slowly from the ponytail. "I told Phoebe it looked weird." Helga heard herself say. _Damn it; who is this awkward girl who has taken over me?! Did Madame Blanche put a curse on me too?_ She wondered in annoyance.

"I think it suits you." Arnold insisted and let his fingers comb through her hair. Helga blushed a bit, cursing her own name for being so easily flattered by him. She heard him hum thoughtfully. "I think loose hair suits you the most though." He said and pulled at the hairband until her wavy going on curly hair fell onto her back. As he admired her, she snickered. "You're kidding; it's so unruly." She stated. "Yeah, like the rest of you." He teased, earning a slap on the chest from his dance partner, even though they were hardly dancing at this point. "Very funny."

"I mean it. You're wild and free; why not let your hair be too?"

_Wild and…_ Helga thought, but lost the thought again. "Do you really see me like that?" she asked, afraid of looking him in the eyes. She could feel Arnold looking at her though, but he didn't try to force her to look at him. "Of course. How else would I look at you?" he wondered aloud. _How indeed…_ she thought with a smile. _Even though I'm totally wrapped around you little finger, maybe I am still me_.

Arnold wasn't sure what kind of web of thoughts Helga had just got caught in, but she was smiling happily so he figured he had said something right. He couldn't remember how or when they had even started dancing though and made a silent prayer that he hadn't done something embarrassing or offensive. "Helga." He said and took a deep breath. She hummed and looked up at him. He muttered something incomprehensible and tried to collect courage. "We were interrupted before, but - - "

A keening and loud sound echoed from the speakers before some white sparks emitted from one of them. Girls were shrieking while boys groaned at the loud sound and Helga and Arnold were no exception. "What the fuck?!" Helga bellowed as the music turned into a horrible static noise. "Uh, excuse me!" the principal said in the mic. "We're sorry about the speakers. We're having technical issues, but don't worry. We'll get it fixed soon." He insisted awkwardly. "Bullshit!" Helga declared loudly, causing a few students to groan in agreement. "First the mic, now the speakers. Can't these people do anything right?"

The sound continued and while it was annoying, it wasn't unbearable to Helga. To Arnold though, the headache that had actually faded now came back with full fervor. His head was throbbing from the inside and his heart got stuck in his throat. He could hear Helga's voice and felt a hand on his shoulder, which he assumed belonged to her. His head felt like it was inside a dome and his throat was dry. _Are we walking?_ Arnold wondered even though he felt his feet moving.

_What is wrong with him?_ Helga wondered worriedly as she pulled Arnold along with her and looked back at him. He was holding his head as he had done since they were in the gym, and he was looking at the ground, if his eyes were open at all. _The sound is gone._ Helga thought and walked into a classroom. "Are you ok?" she asked absentmindedly as she led him inside and closed the door behind them, hoping it would lock the sound from the gym out. She listened for a moment, but all she heard was silence; she couldn't even her the groans Arnold had been making on their way from the gym and to here. It almost worried her.

"Arnold?" Helga asked and turned to look at him. His hand had left his head and was now hanging lazily next to his hip. His head still hung forward, though a bit to the side. Helga frowned as the image of the crooked man came to mind as she saw him standing sideways to her like that. "Arnold? Are you ok?" she asked again and lifted her hand to poke at him, but he grabbed her wrist and stopped her. She blinked in surprise and then, swiftly, Arnold grabbed her other wrist and forced her up against the wall.

Helga gasped, not because it had hurt though, but due to the shock. Her head whipped up and she looked at Arnold who moved his head up to look at her as well. Her eyes widened at the sight of his. _Have they been flashing that brightly all evening?!_ She wondered and almost hissed at the sharp light. The way he was looking at her wasn't help either. He leaned closer to her and she frowned in confusion before turning her cheek tom him, unsure what he was planning.

"You smell so good." Arnold whispered near her neck and inhaled her scent slowly for good measure. "I'm not wearing anything." She insisted as if he had accused her. "I didn't think you did." He replied. The annoyed growl she had been in the process of making turned into a keening moan when his tongue gave her neck a thorough lick. "What are you doing?!" she gasped in slight horror, mostly due to how her pelvis had bucked against his in response.

"I just wanted to know if you tasted like vanilla too." Arnold whispered and kissed her jaw. "What do you mean; vanilla - - " Helga huffed in disbelief, but choked on her words when Arnold kissed her collarbone. When she flinched, she felt him baring his teeth in a smirk. "Your heart is beating so hard." He stated and suckled on the thin skin. _Of course, it is; you're kissing me there!_ She thought, but heard herself deny it. "Of course it is; we were dancing just before!" she lied. He looked up at her and she felt her lips turn into two thin lines at the smug smile he was showing her. "And that's the only reason?"

"Of course it is! Don't get arrogant; As if you could ever get my heart to beat like this." Helga argued, but rather than seeing surrender in Arnold's eyes, pure determination shone in them. His hand traveled to her neck, his fingertips tickling the nape even though his grip was firm. "And if I do this?" he asked and the gasp Helga made turned muffled when his mouth met hers. She stared wide-eyed at his eyelids, the feeling of his warm lips enveloping hers making her incapable of closing her own eyes.

_Was… Was he only pretending to have a headache to get me here?_ Helga wondered and felt anger bubbling inside of her. She bit on his lower lip in a feeble attempt at punishing him, but all it managed to do was encourage him it seemed, since his other hand went to her hip. His thumb caressed her hipbone, a sensitive spot on Helga's body and so she gasped in his mouth. It was only then, when his mouth had left hers, she understood what had happened.

_Arnold kissed me! Well, Dark Arnold, but still…_ Helga thought and noticed the smirk on Arnold's face. "The face you're making right now should be illegal." He stated. Her hand went to her cheek as if she could see her face through her palm. She couldn't, but she _could_ feel the hot sweat burning her hand and she could imagine the mortified blush on her skin. She couldn't help but retort in her mind that the way Arnold was looking at her wasn't exactly innocent either. Why she didn't say it aloud, she didn't comprehend. _Stupid Football Head…_

"Still insisting that your heart isn't pumping because of me?" Arnold asked and Helga scowled in defense. She was about to argue against him, but then he kissed her again. This time though, she fought against him. She was pissed at his cocky attitude; no one was allowed to talk superiorly to her like that, but she felt weak against him even though she was physically stronger. She put her hands on his shoulders, trying to push him away, but he bend his knees and so her hands and arms went over his shoulders in an unintentional embrace.

Helga growled in annoyance at Arnold's stunt and even more so when he chuckled at her. "Stubborn…" he stated in a mockingly amused voice, wordlessly telling her that he was aware that it was her pride and nothing more that was fighting against him. Her growl turned into a groan when he kissed her again. Her eyes closed this time, but she was still fighting halfheartedly against him. If she had used just half of her strength, her nails on his back would have ripped his jacket to pieces.

Arnold's hands went to Helga's hips, his thumbs deliberately caressing the soft flesh under her hipbone again. She shivered at the feeling and gave a low moan Arnold had to strain his ears to hear. She pulled away from the kiss with a pant. "Stop touching me there." She said in a slightly shaky voice, hoping it sounded more confident than she felt. "Where can I touch you then?" Arnold asked with an almost innocent gaze that made her incapable of answering. _Where he can…? Oh, God._ She thought and turned her head away as unwelcome images shot through her mind.

"You're not answering… Does that mean _anywhere_?" Arnold asked teasingly and Helga's eyes shot open even though she still didn't look at him. "Absolutely not!" she bellowed stubbornly even though a part of her was disagreeing with as much fervor. In her peripheral vision, she could see him quirk an eyebrow. "You want me to guess?" he asked and she almost rolled her eyes, but the feeling of his palm on her naked thigh stopped her. _Damn this dress!_ She thought when she remembered the slit in it.

"Can I touch you here?" Arnold asked. _You already are! What's the point in asking for permission if you're just gonna do it anyway?_ Helga thought in stubborn pseudo-anger, which turned to a gulp when she felt his other hand on her stomach. He leaned closer to her, his mouth near her ear and his palm left fingerprints on her stomach as it traveled upwards. "How about here…?" he whispered in her ear, his hand continuing its journey towards her chest, but stopping right beneath one of them. She could feel her legs trembling and words refused to come out of her mouth due to the lump in her throat.

"If you don't answer…" Arnold whispered in an artificially warning tone and moved back until his nose was touching Helga's nose. "I choose both." He said before his hand went to grab her breast and his mouth muffled her high-pitched gasp. While the hand on her thigh stayed still, the hand on her breast moved around gently in contrast to the beating of her heart. She couldn't comprehend a single thought and it didn't help when Arnold coaxed her mouth to open and his tongue slithered inside. She almost bit down in shock, but managed to stop herself before she went that far. Her nails dug into his upper arms and she started wiggling with the jacket.

"If you want it off, you just have to ask." Arnold teased, licked Helga's lips and then kissed her again. "I didn't - - " she said in a muffled voice at first, but then moved her head away from him. "I didn't say that." She insisted, but felt her hands following his jacket as he slipped it off his arms. "Then why are you helping me?" he asked, let the jacket fall to the floor and moved his hands back to their former positions. "I wasn't - - " she insisted, but was cut off by his kiss.

Helga took advantage of the jacket not protecting Arnold's arms anymore and her nails dug into the thin dress shirt and his flesh. She heard him groan, but rather than letting go of her, his nails dug into her breast and thigh as well. "You - - " she hissed, but he stopped her with another kiss. "You did the same thing to me." He pointed out and licked her lips with his tongue. _Did not!_ Helga keened inside her head, but couldn't say it out loud because he was kissing her again. She could barely respond to his tongue because his hands were already making her shiver as if the room was below minus.

With determination as her fuel, Helga swung her leg around one of Arnold's legs in an attempt at making him lose his balance. She cursed when he didn't even falter and his hand on her thigh just pulled her leg all the way up and around his waist. Her eyes shot open at the feeling of something hard rubbing against her. She cursed the thin fabric her panties were made of and made a solemn vow to complain to Phoebe later for having suggested them so that there wouldn't be a panty line under the dress.

With a gasp mixed with a hint of a moan, Helga turned her head away. "Just looking at you drives me crazy." Arnold whispered and she looked back at him, gulping at his words. She wanted to ask if he really meant that. She wanted to know if the real, the _normal_ Arnold felt the same as she did. She wanted to make sure that this wasn't some cruel game to him, but the feeling of pleasure shooting through her when he grinded against her again, made her common sense along with a moan escape through her lips. She tightened the hold of the leg she had wrapped around his waist to feel more friction and chuckled for a second when he groaned.

"I can see that." Helga joked, happy to see that even though she felt vulnerable and was weak against him, she could still force some sort of submission out of him. Arnold looked up at her with a predatory smirk before his hold on her breast tightened as well, causing her to moan loudly. "You're so sensitive." He teased happily and licked her small female Adam's apple after she had gulped. She hissed before bucking against him hardly, causing him to groan again like before. "You're one to talk."

"That's hardly the same thing, is it?" Arnold asked before his hand on Helga's breast went to her other thigh and he hoisted her up. She gasped and her arms tightened around him in order not to fall down, which was obviously to his deep pleasure. She could feel his hardness so much clearer now and she had to hold back in order not to moan indecently from the small friction she was getting. "You're so stubborn." He said as she bit her lower lip. "I've been told, but what are you referring to?" she asked and he nuzzled his nose against hers. "It's _so_ obvious that you're feeling this as much as I am…" he said and opened his eyes, looking deeply into her diamond ones. "Yet you insist on being quiet."

"As much as you?" Helga questioned knowingly and swayed against Arnold, both of them panting at the pleasure. "You tease." He said and she huffed in disbelief. "_Me_?" she questioned before he kissed her again, biting on her lower lip. One of his hands traveled to her lower back and grabbed ahold of her dress. It sent a series of goose bumps all over her skin when she saw how desperately he was looking at her. "I want to be inside you so badly…"

Helga inhaled sharply at Arnold's confession. When she saw that while Arnold said that, his eyes were his natural color, she didn't have it in her to question his words. She stared at him for what felt like the longest time, her eyes searching his. She didn't find any answer, but she still kissed him fervently, her hands going to his cheeks and she moaned without holding back. While his hand started to pull her dress up, her hands went to his belt and she started fumbling with it. She had almost managed to open it before a keening, familiar sound screeched in the room.

The blondes barely managed to stop their kissing and stare at each other in confusion before water started pouring down on them. Helga screamed in anger and shock and Arnold groaned as they both looked at the ceiling. "What's happening?!" Arnold asked as he put Helga down. "The sprinkler system… The speakers in the gym must have caught on fire or something!" she said as she held her hands out in disbelief. "Why are they turned on _here_?" he asked as he kept staring at the ceiling.

"This fucking school!" Helga cursed, only half-answering Arnold's question. "We gotta get out of here." He said, grabbed her hand and pulled her along with him. "W-Wait!" she said and he stopped. He turned to look at her, watching her as she pulled her shoes off. "I can't run in these damned things!" she hissed and as soon as they were off and she had a firm grip around both of them, she started running with him. They kept running until they reached the gym. Their eyes noticed the small, almost pathetic flames near the speakers before they were outside with their peers.

"Helga!" Phoebe's voice cried over the murmurs of the panicked students. Helga ran her fingers through her hair, trying to get as much water out of it as possible before she turned and looked at Phoebe and Gerald who were running towards them. "Fuck you, Arnold! I thought you were still in there!" Gerald said before he wrapped his arms around the shorter blonde and Phoebe hugged Helga as well. "We couldn't find you anywhere!" she bellowed unhappily. "I'm sorry, Phoebs." Helga answered and hugged the girl back.

"Dude, where's your jacket?" Gerald asked as he let go of Arnold and patted his shoulders for effect. Arnold looked at his arms and the feeling of the jacket sliding off his arms came to his mind, but he didn't remember when. "You must have forgotten it in the classroom." Helga stated and he looked at her. Her eyes widened. "You're not gonna go get it, are you?" she asked with a warning tone and crossed her arms. "No! Do you think I'm crazy?" he asked in disbelief and she smirked at him. "You told me I make you crazy, right?" she asked.

A memory shot through Arnold of him telling Helga that while being so close to her that he could smell her and _feel_ her. His hand shot up to cover the blush that was spreading on his cheeks. "Wait. Where were you two?" Phoebe asked in confusion and looked questioningly at Helga. "Tell you later." She whispered quickly and Phoebe nodded obediently.

Gerald wasn't satisfied though and was about to ask the same thing, but then the principal started yelling in a megaphone. While he started apologizing and explaining that both the cops and the fire fighters were on their way, Arnold watched Helga. He could still feel her hands on his shoulders and cheeks, her warm lips on his and the pressure from her legs around his waist. His body remembered, but his mind didn't. With an embarrassed scowl, he made a decision. _I need to talk with Madame Blanche._

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><p><strong>Author's 2nd note: I hope it was worth the wait! Oh, I just wanna make this clear: Arnold doesn't know that Helga knows about his "condition".<strong>

**Song:**

**Adam Lambert – "Your entertainment"**


	7. My enemy again

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned in this story.**

**They all belong to their rightful owner: Craig Bartlett.**

**Title: "Alter ego"**

**In the last chapter:**_** After Helga had sung with her female classmates, Luka and Arnold weren't the only ones to show interest in her. Luka was quick to realize that Helga was completely smitten with Arnold and gave up once the blonde boy had joined them.**_

_**After a heated dance, the speakers started complaining and Arnold's headache returned. Helga pulled him into a classroom to get away from the noise, but that resulted in them being alone together and giving Dark Arnold a chance to jump Helga.**_

_**The blondes were interrupted when the speakers caught on fire and they had to run outside to join their peers. Arnold didn't remember what had happened between him and Helga, but his body seemed to remember certain things. He decided it was time to go and talk to Madame Blanche.**_

**Author's 1st note: Ok! So… I didn't expect to be able to write this within… five hours… Whoa. Well, when you're on a roll, you're on a roll xD**

**[Please notify me if you notice any grammar mistakes. This isn't my first language, so there's bound to be mistakes.]**

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><p><span>Chapter 7: "My enemy again"<span>

Arnold wasn't sure whether to sigh in relief or disappointment as he and Gerald waved goodbye to the girls. Gerald was grinning from ear to ear though and Arnold smiled back at him. "Did something happen between you and Phoebe?" he asked and Gerald shrugged innocently. "We danced a lot and talked a bit… I'm sure you got further with Helga." He said and nudged his elbow against Arnold's arm. "So, come on; _spill_! Why did you feel the need to go to a classroom together?"

"Actually, I'm not sure how we got there… I just remember the speakers giving me a headache and then I felt Helga pulling me away and… and, after that, my mind is kind of blank…" Arnold admitted and massages his scalp for good measure. "But - - "

"But what?" Gerald asked with a big grin and leaned closer. Arnold didn't look back at him, but moved his fingers to his mouth, caressing them for a bit. Gerald's eyes widened. "Dude, you two totally kissed, didn't you?" he asked excitedly and Arnold nodded. "I-I think so." He said, but frowned when Gerald waved his fingers away and put his own finger on Arnold's lips. "There's no doubt about it. Your lips are shining." He said and showed Arnold the dark red lip-gloss he had just wiped off Arnold's mouth.

Arnold's whole palm covered his mouth now in embarrassment and he felt his cheeks heat up. "Oh, God…" he whispered when he felt a hand ghost over his stomach, which he knew wasn't actually there. "What?" Gerald asked, confused why Arnold looked so mortified. "I think… I think I did more than kissing her." Arnold answered and looked into his palm, the feeling of something soft pressing against it still lingered even though he couldn't physically see anything. Gerald looked at his hand too. "Arnold, did you go to second base?" Gerald asked seriously and Arnold jolted. "I-I'm not sure!" he insisted. "It's like… my body can still feel Helga, but my brain doesn't remember anything!"

"That _sucks_!" Gerald declared and pulled his keys out of his pocket. "Seriously though, what if you and Helga really did do more than kissing? What more proof do you need that she likes you?"

Arnold hesitated before he answered. "But… the person who kissed her and… a-and _everything else_… wasn't me." He said and Gerald frowned. "What do you mean?" he asked and Arnold sighed as he leaned up against Gerald's car. "What if Helga likes Dark Arnold and not… _me_?" he wondered aloud and looked down at the asphalt. Gerald considered smacking Arnold at the back of the head, but somehow it didn't seem likely that Arnold would get his message if he did that. _This stupid, dense kid!_ He hissed in his mind and stepped in front of Arnold. "I'm pretty sure Helga likes _you_ and not just this new side of you."

"How do you know?"

"Call it a sixth sense; something you _lack_." Gerald insisted, but Arnold didn't seem convinced. Gerald groaned. "Weren't you the one who told me earlier that Helga was the one who helped us save the neighborhood back in fourth grade?"

Arnold's head whipped up. "When did I tell you that?!" he asked in incredulity. _I was planning to take Helga's secret to the grave!_ He thought as he watched Gerald roll his eyes. "You told me _tonight_. You said she had told you she loved you too. How much proof do you want? Dark Arnold didn't even exist back then! Well, he wasn't as obvious at least." Gerald insisted, but Arnold wasn't listening. "I can't believe I told you!" he shouted. "I'm not the kind of person who tells other people's secrets!"

"Arnold, it's such a long time ago."

"That doesn't matter! That was Helga's secret and it wasn't mine to tell! I can't believe I'd tell you that! Madame Blanche is wrong; Dark Arnold is _not_ a part of me. H-He's some reversed version. He… I want him gone." Arnold stated and grabbed the keys out of Gerald's hand. "Dude, where are we going?" Gerald asked as he walked around the car towards the passenger seat. "We're going to Madame Blanche's shop. I'm done with this. Dark Arnold has to go." Arnold answered and sat in front of the steering wheel. Gerald sat next to him and put his seatbelt in place obediently. "Arnold, I'm sure even witches sleep." He pointed out. "Then we're just gonna have to wake her up." Arnold said, started the car and accelerated quickly.

Gerald's car drove past Helga and Phoebe who looked towards it in surprise. "Gerald's sure in a hurry to get home." Phoebe observed and looked at Helga who watched the car as it turned a corner. She didn't hear the Asian girl, but looked at her anyway. "Phoebe… I think I need some advice." She said and Phoebe smiled at her. "Advising." She declared in a happy voice, but Helga didn't smile back. "Arnold… _Dark_ Arnold… kissed me in the classroom."

"And… you are unhappy?"

"Not _unhappy_, more… torn."

"Torn between whether you like Dark Arnold or not?"

"Exactly! I fell in love with the kind and sweet and modest Arnold and Dark Arnold just… isn't."

"But he is still Arnold."

"Exactly… Madame Blanche said that Dark Arnold is a part of Arnold who is acting out because Arnold won't accept that he has a dark side. Does that mean that if Arnold does accept him, Dark Arnold will calm down or will he take over?" Helga asked and sat down on the bench near the bus stop. Phoebe hummed thoughtfully as she sat down next to her. "Hard to say… I think maybe… maybe something in the middle?" she suggested and Helga frowned. "Which would mean what exactly…?" she wondered and Phoebe shrugged. "Perhaps… Perhaps Arnold would be more likely to tell people what he is really thinking if he's angry or sad… Maybe he'd be braver and take more chances and maybe… maybe he would flirt more openly with you."

Phoebe pushed at Helga with her shoulder and the blonde finally smiled and even chuckled. "That sounds fine… if that's how it would really be… What if you're wrong though? What if he becomes more like… _me_?" she asked and cringed her nose at the thought. "Would that be bad? Don't you sometimes complain that he is an annoying goody-two-shoes?" Phoebe asked and Helga sighed. "But I love that annoying goody-two-shoes." She reminded her and chuckled again.

The girls were quiet for a while, both of them looking into the sky and at the start. Phoebe heard the engine of an old bus approaching and she nudged at Helga. "Are you in a hurry to get home?" the blonde asked and Phoebe tilted her head to the side in confusion. "Not particularly… Why?" she asked and stood up, but was stopped by Helga taking her hand. "Can we go somewhere else first then?" she asked and Phoebe sat back down with a smile. "I think I know where." She stated and Helga smiled back at her. "You were always the smart one."

* * *

><p>Arnold parked as close to Madame Blanche's shop as possible and looked curiously at her window. "How did she get it fixed so quickly?" he wondered aloud, but didn't wait for Gerald to answer. He gave him the car keys back and then stepped outside onto the curb. He heard Gerald slamming the door behind him and then they walked towards the shop. "It's open." Gerald observed in awe and followed Arnold inside. "Madame Blanche!" Arnold called. "I need your help!"<p>

"How may I be of service?" a female voice asked behind Arnold and he turned clumsily around, almost following over his own feet. Madame Blanche was standing in front of him, her hands folded in front of her thighs and looking almost innocently at him. "Oh, the boy with the oblong head." She stated. "Your friends were here the other day too."

_Friends?_ Arnold wondered and looked questioningly at Gerald who didn't look back at him. "Well, Arnold's here now." He said and Arnold looked back at Madame Blanche. "Ma'am, please take this curse off me. I can't take it anymore." He pleaded, but the woman seemed confused. "Curse? Young man, I am not a witch." She insisted and walked past him. "Then voodoo?" Gerald suggested, but the woman just shook her head again. "I assume this is about the same matter you asked me about a couple of days ago?" she asked and Gerald nodded.

"Aren't you happy that you finally dare to do the things you want, but are afraid to do?" Madame Blanche asked and sat down on a chair in front of a small, round table made of mahogany. "No! I don't even know what I'm doing when I turn, transform or… Listen to me; I'm going crazy." Arnold said and suddenly remembered how he had told Helga that she drove him crazy. He flushed bright red and sat down in front of Madame Blanche. "Please help me."

Madame Blanche blinked slowly, seemingly unfazed with the way Arnold was begging her. Then she sighed. "I cannot undo what has been done. That is purely up to you." She answered. Arnold looked dejectedly in Gerald's direction, but the African boy was currently looking at some shrunken heads, grinning like a boy in a candy store and clearly not listening. "But…" Madame Blanche said and Arnold looked back at her hopefully. "I _can_ help you remember." She said and moved her hands to the crystal ball on the table.

Arnold wondered if the crystal ball had always been there, but decided not to wonder for too long. "Remember…? So you can do it so I remember what I do when I'm Dark Arnold?" he asked and moved closer to the table, staring intensely into the crystal ball. "I am not doing this for your sake, young man, but for the blonde girl you are so fond of." She said and let her fingers ghost over the crystal ball. Arnold's head whipped up. "You know Helga?" he asked and she smiled knowingly. "Why yes. She was in fact here together with your voodoo-enthusiastic friend over there."

Arnold turned around to look at Gerald, but the taller boy still wasn't listening to them. "Gerald!" he said and the boy finally looked at him, hiding whatever he had been touching a second ago. "Why didn't you tell me that Helga knew about this?" he asked angrily and Gerald sighed. "Because I knew you'd react like that?" he suggested innocently, but at the sight of the clearly not amused face on his best friend's face, he coughed awkwardly. "I just forgot to mention it."

"You _forgot_?!"

"I'm sorry!"

"Boys." Madame Blanche interrupted and Arnold turned to look at the gypsy again, but his eyes fell to the crystal ball, which was now showing a blurred image of something blonde. "Do you wish to see what you have done and said so far?" she asked and Arnold looked up at her again. "Can I?" he asked and when she tapped on the crystal ball, it shone so brightly that it lit up the whole room. Arnold inhaled nervously and then looked into the crystal ball.

Images flashed inhumanely fast in the reflection on the crystal ball and yet Arnold's eyes caught onto every little detail. He could hear himself speak and he could see Helga in front of him; scowling, blushing, smiling and rolling her eyes. When the images disappeared, he gasped and almost fell down the chair as he jumped backwards. His eyes were wide with shock and confusion and he turned to look at Gerald. "And Helga knows…?" he asked again and Gerald nodded uncomfortably. Arnold gasped and put his hand to his head in mortification.

"Oh! Speak of the Devil…" Madame Blanche said and looked towards her door. Arnold and Gerald looked in the same direction, but they saw nothing. Before Arnold could ask what the gypsy was talking about, he heard the doorbell and two girls stepped inside. "Helga?!" Arnold called in shock and stood up, knocking the chair down in the process. Helga, who had been about to call Madame Blanche's name, looked at him in surprise. "Arnold?!" she said back and stared buck-eyed at him before Phoebe stepped to the side and looked at Gerald. "What are you two doing here?"

"The same thing you girls were about to." Madame Blanche replied and stood up from her chair. Arnold looked at her and noticed that the crystal ball was gone. "The same…?" Helga repeated in confusion. "Wait. So you know?" she asked and Arnold frowned. "Of course I do." He insisted and Gerald huffed. "It took me forever to get him convinced though!" he said and crossed his arms. "I… didn't know you knew, Helga." Arnold said and looked awkwardly at her. "Right back at you." She said with a frown. "Did Madame Blanche tell you - - Where did she go?"

The boys looked at where they expected Madame Blanche to be standing, but she was gone. "Madame Blanche?" Arnold questioned and looked around, but she was nowhere in sight. "Not again." Gerald said with a groan before Helga stepped around the corner and looked at the vines Madame Blanche had disappeared into back when Helga had visited her with Gerald. "I'm so sick of that trick…" she muttered and turned to look at the others again. "Bitchy witch." she cursed, but then frowned at her own comment and rolled her eyes. "Did she say anything useful?"

"Arnold can now remember the things he does and says." Gerald said with a goofy grin, clearly thinking that it wasn't very helpful. Helga looked at Arnold with a somewhat distrustful look. "So… you remember about…?" she asked and waved her hand as if that could trigger his memory. It did, she realized, when she saw him flush bright red and start to scratch his neck, which was a habit of his when he felt embarrassed. "Uh, y-yeah… somewhat."

"_Somewhat_?"

"Completely." Arnold admitted and looked back at Helga, unsure what kind of expression he was expecting to see. Her blue black-coated eyes blinked and she wiped some mascara away. "Goddamnit. Stupid sprinklers…" she cursed at the stinging feeling, though she felt lucky to have an excuse to look away from Arnold right then. When she looked back up though he was standing right in front of her, his eyes shining a bit. She flinched in surprise when his hand went to her other eye and she closed them as he wiped some mascara away. "There."

Helga opened her eyes and Arnold whipped his hand away, obviously surprised by his own actions. "Uh… s-sorry." He said and looked away again though he could see her smiling in his peripheral vision. "Yeah, that was much more Arnold-like." She said and he looked back at her, smiling.

Gerald suddenly yawned and the blondes were pulled out of their moment. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm going home. Anyone want a lift?" he asked and blinked in Helga's direction. She almost blushed at the hidden meaning behind it, but managed to control herself. "Yes!" she groaned tiredly and then laughed with the others.

* * *

><p>Once Gerald had gotten Phoebe home, he proceeded to Helga's house. He looked back at the blondes in his rearview mirror, hoping Arnold would at least <em>say<em> something to the girl. Arnold was fiddling with his thumbs though, occasionally looking at Helga who was staring absentmindedly through the window. Gerald coughed lowly and while Helga didn't bother to look at him, Arnold did. Gerald gave Arnold a look Arnold knew what meant and he inhaled nervously.

_What does he want me to say anyway?_ Arnold wondered, but looked at Helga anyhow. His eyes automatically traveled to her legs, which were currently crossed. She was therefore, due to the slit in her dress, showing of an indecent amount of leg and he felt his eyes burn for a moment. _No!_ He cursed and slapped his cheeks, hoping to stop himself from changing. The sound caused Helga to turn and look at him. "You ok?"

"Yeah, uh… Just trying to… control myself." Arnold admitted shyly, hoping Helga would catch on and yet not completely. She hummed in understanding, but didn't go back to looking out the window like he had expected. "Do you… Uh, didn't you know about what was going on with you until today?" she asked casually and he sighed. "Gerald tried to convince me, but… I didn't really want to believe it."

"Don't blame you… So, what's the plan?"

"I… don't have one."

"_You_?" Helga questioned as she quirked an eyebrow and Arnold turned to smile at her. "What do _you_ suggest?" he asked and she crossed her arms curiously. "Arnold is asking _my_ advice?" she asked in disbelief and he shot her a slanted look. She hummed thoughtfully, seemingly seriously thinking about it. Arnold watched her as she started biting on her lower lip and he bit on his own, hoping to contain his temptation to kiss her. "Well." Helga said and pulled him out of his daydream. "Madame Blanche said you need to accept it before you can remove it, so there's really no other way, is there?"

Arnold looked at Helga for a moment before he started smiling at her. "And how do you propose I do that?" he asked and she shrugged. "Hey, that's _your_ problem. Not mine." She interjected and looked outside the window. "Well, this is my stop." she observed before Gerald stopped the car outside her house. "Thanks for the lift, Gerald." She said as she unlocked her seatbelt and then the door. "Goodnight!"

Before the boys could answer, Helga had slammed the door and was already on her way towards the door. Arnold sighed before Gerald turned around in his seat and looked at him in disbelief. "_Dude_, what are you doing?" he asked with his eyebrows knitted together. Arnold looked back at him. "What do you mean?" he asked and the dark boy rolled his eyes. "After everything that's happened tonight, you're not gonna say anything? You've kissed her, among other things. Don't you think it'd be common sense to tell her how you feel?"

Arnold thought about it for a bit and then looked at Helga through the window in the car. She was fumbling with her keys. "Go!" Gerald ordered and before he could think, Arnold opened the car door. "Helga, wait!" he said and stopped her from putting her key into the door. She turned to look at him as he walked around the car. "Yeah?" she inquired and gulped nervously. "Uh… I-I just want to… to make something clear." He said as he looked down at the ground. She blinked in surprise and hummed. "Um… yeah?" she inquired once more and crossed her arms nervously.

"Um… this dark side of mine…" Arnold continued, wondering how he should phrase the sentence. _I don't want her to think that I don't respect her. The way my dark side treats her seems more like I'm out to get something and I'm not._ He thought and took a deep breath before he looked at her, still nervously. "I just want you to know that I don't like it." He said resolutely, but when her eyebrows knitted together in confusion, he continued. "I don't like my dark side and the things he does… I just didn't want you to misunderstand."

Arnold watched as Helga blinked a couple of times, a frown growing on her face. She looked away from him, deep in thought. _So he doesn't like that his dark side flirts, touches and kisses me…?_ She wondered and chewed on the flesh inside her mouth, hoping that the new sting would make the one in her heart disappear. "Helga…?" Arnold said gently. "Do you, uh… Do you understand what I mean?" he asked. She huffed and looked back at him with a sarcastic smile. "Oh, yeah. I think I got it."

Arnold could see that there was something odd in Helga's smile, but not what, so he simply smiled back. "G-Good. I just wanted to make sure." He said and took a couple of steps back. "So, we're good?" he asked and bumped into the car. "Oh, yeah. We're cool." Helga said with a frown as he opened the door and then turned to smile at her again. "I'll see you at school on Monday then?" he asked and sat down. She nodded and waved back when he waved at her. He closed the door, still wearing a goofy smile on his face and then the car started and drove away.

"So, did you get to talk with her?" Gerald asked as he saw Arnold grinning from one ear to the other. "Yeah, I did." He said and turned to wave at Helga one last time. She was still standing on the stairs, but she didn't seem to notice that he was waving, even though she was looking at them. _It's probably too dark to see._ Arnold decided and turned around in his seat again.

"What did she say?" Gerald asked, doing his best to listen to his best friend as he continued to drive, the street lights being his only way to guide through the town. "She said she understood." Arnold answered, still grinning. Gerald frowned in confusion. "Wait. What did you tell her exactly?" he asked and Arnold looked at him. "Oh, I told her I don't like the way my dark side acts around her. I mean, you should have seen some of the things I saw in that crystal ball – speaking of which, we really need to figure out how Madame Blanche did that – Dark Arnold is _such_ a - - "

"Wait. Wait, wait, wait. So… you told Helga that you don't like the things Dark Arnold does to her?" Gerald interrupted, still frowning deeply. "Huh? Well, yeah. I didn't want her to think that I see her as an object or something. I truly care about her, so I wanted her to know that." Arnold explained and looked out of the window, not noticing the somewhat panicked look in Gerald's eyes. "Did you tell her _that_?"

"What?"

"That you actually _care_ about her?" Gerald clarified. He turned to look at Arnold once he had stopped at a red light. The blonde boy was blinking in confusion. "Well… no, I-I thought that I in essence told her that." He explained, but he could see in Gerald's face that he had done something wrong. Gerald groaned heavily. "Arnold, you're such a moron! You finally had the chance to tell her how you felt and you blow it!"

"I didn't blow it! I told her how I felt!"

"No, no, no, all you told her was that you don't agree with the things Dark Arnold does - - "

"Yeah!"

"Which happens to be _flirting_ with Helga, showing that he _cares_ about Helga and _kissing_ her!" Gerald clarified and started driving again after noticing that the light had been green for a while. Arnold blinked a couple of times and frowned. "Dark Arnold doesn't show Helga that he cares. All he tries to do is - - "

"Is _hit_ on her, get together with her! Arnold, your shy way of playing indifferent isn't telling Helga _anything_. All that tells a girl is that you don't care!" Gerald interrupted. "And that comes from you?" Arnold growled and Gerald growled as well. "Listen to me! In essence, you just told Helga that you don't like flirting with her!"

"I did not!"

"Yes, you did! _'Helga, I don't like my dark side, the side of me who actually shows any interest in you.'_ That's what you just told her!" Gerald yelled, getting more and more angry at Arnold's denseness. Arnold looked at him in confusion and shook his head. "N-No way. I… I told her not to misunderstand. I - - "

"You _what_?! Arnold, that's something you tell a chick you know you've been flirting with, but you're not really interested in!" Gerald shouted in frustration. He considered turning the car around so that Arnold could fix this misunderstanding right away, but he had a feeling that Helga would pretty hurt right now and she probably wouldn't listen and wouldn't let them in to begin with.

Arnold was gawking at Gerald in shock and then turned in his seat to look out of the window. "N-No way… Helga's a smart girl; she wouldn't misunderstand me, would she?" he wondered aloud, feeling fear consume his heart. _She wouldn't… N-No. Surely she knows how I feel about her, right?_ He thought in a panic and even more so when Gerald answered him. "Except you just told her _not_ to misunderstand." He said and Arnold looked back at him. "You told Helga not to misunderstand right after you kissed her! That's the same as saying: _'I'm sorry, but I don't really like you or anything.'_, idiot!"

Arnold's heart was beating painfully fast and he looked out of the window again. "T-Turn around. I need to talk to her!" he said, but Gerald shook his head. "I don't think she'll listen to you right now, man." He said. Arnold turned to scowl at him. "But - - "

"No, Arnold. You need to go home and fucking _practice_ what you'll say to her on Monday. Don't fuck it up again. She really likes you." Gerald insisted. Arnold blinked in surprise. "How… How do you know that?" he asked in confusion. Gerald hesitated, but then he sighed. "I… I overheard her talking to Phoebe about it." He admitted. "What?!" Arnold yelled. "When?"

"A year ago." Gerald confessed, but stopped Arnold before the boy could throw a tantrum. "She made me swear not to tell you! She kinda knows about my feelings for Phoebe so we made a deal."

"I can't believe you! I've liked Helga for so long and you didn't tell me she _still_ liked me back? Don't you think she would have forgiven you for telling on her if we got together?"

"Yeah, I kinda realized that a little too late, I admit. I'm sorry, ok, but this is _not_ my fault. It's _yours_ for being so damn bad at thinking before you speak!" Gerald countered and Arnold opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn't deny that. He shot his eyes closed tightly instead, holding a hand in front of them, hoping he wouldn't start crying. _She likes me… No, she still likes me… Maybe she even still loves me… _He thought and felt his eyes burn. _Oh, no… I think I really messed up._

* * *

><p>Helga started to feel cold despite the still hot weather as she felt a tear run down her cheek. She wiped it away angrily. "What did you expect?" she asked herself as she fumbled with the key in her hands. The key finally found the keyhole and she turned it tensely. Once she was inside, she slammed the door and ran up the stairs, ignoring her mother's loud snoring from the living room. She went into her room and opened her nightstand, grabbing the object she had been looking for and slammed the drawer shut.<p>

Helga proceeded with determined steps towards the small utility room they had in their house. She looked around for a bit and found her dad's toolbox. She crouched, sniffing as she did so, but holding the sound down as much as she could so that she wouldn't lose her will to do what she wanted right then. She found a hammer, put the object from her hand on the floor and lifted the hammer high above her head. Her heart cried in despair as she slammed the hammer down on the golden heart-shaped locket, causing it to splinter into a thousand pieces until it was unrecognizable.

Helga fell from her knees and onto the floor. A lump grew in her throat as she picked up one of the pieces, studying it. She let it fall into her palm and she weighted it. It felt so unnaturally heavy in her hand and eventually, she let it fall between the other pieces. Before she knew what she was doing, her hands were trying to collect the pieces again even though she knew it was impossible. The heart was broken and it would never get its natural shape again. She cried at the irony and let herself fall to the floor, feeling a tear run over her nose and past her other eye. The last thing she saw before she fell asleep was the shattered pieces of her heart.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's 2nd note: Well! I guess you're having mixed feelings with me right now? Happy that I uploaded a new chapter so fast – especially since the former one took forever – but unhappy because of the ending. Frankly… I didn't see this coming either. Most of the time, I am improvising when I write and this improvisation <strong>_**hurt**_**! *Sniff* I'm sorry, Helga, I promise to make it up to you! In the meantime, uh… don't worry, guys! This is not at all the end and it won't end sadly. There wasn't even supposed to be any sadness in this to begin with xD Shit happens OwO**


	8. I can be good

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned in this story.**

**They all belong to their rightful owner: Craig Bartlett.**

**Title: "Alter ego"**

**In the last chapter:**_** Once Arnold found out that he in his Dark Arnold state had told Helga's secret to Gerald, he decided to make a stop at Madame Blanche's stop before going home. What he didn't know was that Helga planned the same thing.**_

_**Madame Blanche couldn't undo the curse, but she agreed to make it so Arnold would remember the things he would say and do and she even showed him the things he had already done. Helga and Phoebe joined the boys just in time before Madame Blanche decided it was time for them to go home.**_

_**In an attempt at making Helga understand that Arnold didn't think of her as an object, he told her not to misunderstand the things he did when he was Dark Arnold. Helga did indeed misunderstand though and now thinks that he has no interest in her whatsoever.**_

**Author's 1****st**** note: I am on a roll, baby! I hope this chapter can make up for the former one xD Also, the next chapter might take some time… It is not entirely certain yet **_**when**_**, but I am spending Christmas with my dad who lives out in the boondocks so that basically means no computer -.- Well, he does in fact have a computer, but I think it belongs more at a museum. I'll try to get some writing done, but who knows what he's got planned xD I have a feeling I won't be able to upload the next chapter until… maybe the 26****th****? Booh! Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter and will stay tuned for the next :3**

**[Please notify me if you notice any grammar mistakes. This isn't my first language, so there's bound to be mistakes.]**

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><p><span>Chapter 8: "I can be good"<span>

"Helga… Helga. Helga!"

Helga jolted and dropped her books in the process. She whipped her head around and rubbed her eyes. "Don't scare me, Phoebs." She ordered without looking at the girl. She crouched, began picking her books up and saw that Phoebe crouched in front of her to help. "You seem distant this morning, Helga. Is something wrong?" she asked as she collected the books. Helga froze at the question and her hand automatically went to her chest.

It took Phoebe a moment before her eyes noticed where Helga's hand was and she gasped. "What happened to your locket?" she asked when she noticed the lack of bump under the blouse. "N-Nothing." Helga insisted and tried to grab a book, but Phoebe grabbed her hand. "Helga, please… You were so secretive when we were children; don't go back to that." She begged. Helga hesitated for a long time, but then sighed. "Arnold… made things clear after we had left you at your house. It was an eye-opener."

"Made things clear…? W-What did he tell you?"

"In essence he told me that whatever Dark Arnold does has nothing to do with him. Flirting, kissing… those were all Dark Arnold's doings and not his." Helga said, feeling a sting in her heart at hearing the words come out of her own mouth. Phoebe let go of Helga's hand, letting her return to collect the books. "N-No… Helga, you must have misunderstood him. What did he say exactly?" Phoebe asked and Helga growled. "He told me not to misunderstand, so that's what I'm gonna do!" she answered. "I'm just going to pretend that last week didn't happen and then I can go back to my original plan: _Forgetting_ Arnold and not entertaining hopes."

Phoebe said Helga's name so gently that it almost hurt. "Don't… Just don't." Helga begged, feeling tears threaten to fall from her eyes, but she held them back. "Helga… what did you do to your locket?" Phoebe asked, but Helga didn't answer. "Helga!"

"I broke it with Bob's sledgehammer." Helga answered almost casually and showed Phoebe a seething smile. "What wonderful irony, isn't it? Arnold broke my heart, so I broke a heart with his picture in it. Not as good, but it'll have to do."

Phoebe stared at Helga in mortified shock. "But you… that locket meant everything to you." She said, but Helga shook her head. "Arnold meant everything to me, but since the feeling isn't mutual, the locket is of no importance to me." She insisted and gestured for Phoebe to give her the book she had clutched in her hands. "You should talk with Arnold." Phoebe said gently and Helga sighed. "I'm sure it was a misunderstanding, Helga!"

"It was pretty clear what he meant, Phoebs. Leave it."

"But, Helga - - "

"_Leave it_." Helga hissed warningly, pried the book from Phoebe's arms and stood up to put them back in her locker. She knew Phoebe was still standing near her, but the Asian girl didn't say anything. Phoebe looked past Helga when she saw someone she knew though and smiled. "Ok, Helga. I'll see you in class." She said, patted the girl's shoulder and jogged towards the blonde who was heading towards them. Phoebe quickly wrapped her arm around his and pulled him around the corner. "I'm hoping for your sake that you're just being your regular dense self, Arnold, or I swear I'll make you suffer for what you've done to Helga."

Arnold blinked in surprise at Phoebe's harsh words, but nodded. "That's why I was trying to approach her… Until you pulled me away that is." He said with a small frown and tried to walk past her, but she blocked his way. "Tell me something honestly, Arnold, without any room to _misunderstand_." She said, drawling the last word purposely. Arnold gulped and waited for her question obediently. "Do you, or do you _not_ like Helga? And you know what kind of like I'm talking about." She asked and he gulped nervously. He wasn't unsure of his answer, only whether he really wanted Phoebe to know this very moment. He decided to answer honestly though. "I do."

"… Really?"

"Really-really." Arnold confirmed. Phoebe stared intensely into his eyes for a long time, searching for any sign of dishonesty in them, but then sighed in relief. After the sigh though, she slapped at his shoulder. "You really are horribly inarticulate, Arnold! Think before you talk." She scolded and Arnold nodded. "I'm really sorry, Phoebe… and I'd like to tell Helga that too. I want to make things clear." He said seriously, but gulped when he saw Phoebe's hateful stare. "For real this time!"

Phoebe sighed at Arnold's last addition, but then finally smiled at him. "I just hope she'll listen to you." She said before walking past him. "Good luck." She wished almost casually and waved. Arnold waved back, even though her back was turned to him. He then took a deep breath, turned the corner and was about to head towards Helga's locker, but saw that she was gone. He looked around, almost in panic, but then the bell rang and he sighed. _Too late…_

* * *

><p>Once class was over, Helga was quick to pull her bag over her shoulder and walk out of the classroom. Arnold looked in her direction as he packed his own bag, cursing that he hadn't done that a few seconds before the bell rang instead. Once he had put his pencil case in his bag, he jumped clumsily out of his chair and followed her. He looked around and smiled in relief when he saw her blonde hair bounce in-between the other students in the hallway. He almost called her name, but someone beat him to it.<p>

"Hey, Helga." Luka said and Helga looked at him over her shoulder. "Luka… not really in the mood, ok?" she said, hoping the boy would catch a hint, for once, and leave her alone. He blinked in slight surprise. "Did something happen?" he asked worriedly and put his hand on her shoulder in what she assumed was supposed to be a soothing gesture. She didn't have it in her to fight against him though so she just shrugged. "Well… if you don't wanna talk about it, will you at least let me get your mind off things?" Luka suggested.

Helga was about to say no, but then she saw something in her peripheral vision. She saw Arnold standing stupidly in the middle of the hallway and he was clearly looking at them. Her eyebrows knitted together before she looked away and nodded at Luka's question. The Greek boy smiled as he kept his hand on Helga's shoulder and led her away from the hallway. Arnold opened his mouth to call her name, to beg her not to go with Luka, but it was as if the lump in his throat was stopping him. In the end, Arnold went back to the classroom, having lost his appetite.

* * *

><p>"We can talk in here." Luka said and opened the door for Helga. She looked inside and quirked an eyebrow at the sight of all the instruments. "The music room?" she questioned, but shrugged and sat down on the floor up against a wall, not bothering to sit on an actual chair. Luka sat down on a table without questioning her act, and she appreciated that.<p>

Luka and Helga sat in silence for a couple of minutes before Luka bopped his head towards the piano. "Want to hear me play something?" he asked and she looked towards the piano. "Can you actually play?" she asked and Luka grinned. "You be the judge." He retorted as he walked towards it. He sat down, almost unnaturally elegantly and put his long, slender fingers on the tangents. Helga watched him as he started to play a melancholic melody, she didn't know.

"I thought you were gonna cheer me up?" Helga complained and Luka smiled at her before he changed the melody. She stood up from the floor and walked towards him to hear the song better. It was more upbeat, perhaps too optimistic for her. "Know anything that doesn't sound like we're supposed to be in a forest and braiding each other's hair?" she asked as she put her hand on the piano, caressing it absentmindedly. Luka hummed thoughtfully before he changed the song yet again and Helga snickered at the dark tone. "That sounds more depressing than the first one."

"Don't you know it?"

"No." Helga admitted as she sat down next to Luka. "Sure you do." He insisted. "It's _She will be loved_ by Maroon 5." He told her and she looked at his fingers as they danced across the piano. She listened for a bit until she nodded in recognition. "Oh, yeah. I recognize it now… I never really liked that song." She muttered and he stopped playing. "You're kidding? Why not?" he asked and put his hands on his lap. "It's the theme; I guess…" she answered with a shrug. "This typical boy-saves-girl-thing. I don't like those."

Luka chuckled. "You're telling me you don't want saving?"

"Don't need it. I'd rather make my own world a better place than having some hero whisk me away and carry me to a better one."

"Doesn't it sound nice though? To have someone to sweep you off your feet and… let them take you to a better world?" Luka asked and Helga frowned as she looked away. "The only one who can make your life better is you." She insisted. "That sounds very sad, Helga." He said and she snorted. "And waiting for someone to solve all your problems for you isn't?" she asked sarcastically. She waited for him to say something, but when he didn't, she stood up.

"I could be that person, Helga." Luka said as he took her wrist. She whipped her head around to look at him. "Excuse me?" she said as he made her sit back down. "I could be the one to change your world for the better." He said with a smile even though she was frowning. "Do you want to see the world?" he asked. "I can take you to any place you'd like to see. Whatever you want can be yours. You think the only one who can change your world is you, but I can show you a whole new world."

"Are you seriously quoting _Aladdin_ right now?"

"I'm serious, Helga!"

"So am I! How many times do I have to say it before you get it through your thick skull?" Helga asked, pulled her wrist out of Luka's grip and stood up. "I am _not_ interested!" she stated for what felt like the hundredth time before heading towards her bag, which she had left on the floor. When she bend over to grab it, she felt something take her hand and she turned to hiss at Luka. "Let go already!" she yelled, but he didn't. Instead, his free hand went to her neck and he pulled her close enough for her to smell his cologne. She cringed at the smell before he kissed her and she gasped.

Helga froze; she was in such complete shock that she forgot basic motor skills. She was mortified and she felt disgusted; it felt nothing like when Arnold kissed her. It was the sound of the door opening, that pulled her out of it and she bit down hard on Luka's lip. He hissed in pain and removed his mouth from hers. He looked towards the door where someone had just walked in. Helga hadn't noticed though and simply pulled her hand out of Luka's grip only to collect it in a fist and punch him in the face.

Luka stumbled backwards from the force of Helga's hit. His hand went to his nose and he looked at her in shock. "I'm a model!" he reminded her angrily and looked down at the blood in his palm in mortification. "Look at this as a lesson: _don't_ try kissing me again." Helga warned and put her hand up to her mouth to wipe it.

"_What_?" an angry voice hissed behind Helga and she turned, her eyes widening at the sight of Arnold fuming, his eyes shining unmistakably brightly. "What are you doing here?" she asked in confusion and he looked at her. "I decided I didn't trust Luka alone with you and it looks like I was wright!" he declared and took a step towards Luka. Helga stepped in front of Arnold though before he could approach Luka. "Stay out of this, Arnold. Don't give me another reason to punch you too." She warned and the shine in his eyes seemed to fade at her words. She swiftly grabbed her bag, swung it over her shoulder and walked out of the door. Arnold growled at Luka. "Stay away from Helga!" he warned before he followed her out of the door. "Yup. Got it." Luka said and wiped the blood away from his nose. "No problem."

"Helga!" Arnold called out in the hallway, but she had disappeared. "How is she so fast?" he wondered and was about to turn a corner until he heard a loud noise inside one of the classrooms. He halted and listened for a bit. Once he heard the noise again, he took a couple of steps back and looked through the small window in the door into the classroom. His eyes widened at the sight of Helga kicking the teacher's desk. The desk moved from its usual spot, but it didn't seem to have taken any damage. She didn't look like she was trying to do any real destruction though since she suddenly crossed her arms and sat on the desk.

Arnold was about to knock when Helga's head whipped up and she looked towards him. She glared at him for a long time before she rolled her eyes and walked towards him. Arnold barely managed to jump back before she pushed the door open, the handle slamming loudly against the wall. She put her hand on the door, holding it open while she crossed her ankles and put her other hand on her hip. "What?"

Arnold gulped. He felt two kind of nervous inside him; one, Helga was really angry and after just hitting Luka, she probably wouldn't be highly against hitting him too – she had a valid reason after all. Two, the way she was standing and even the way she was glaring at him made his knees buckle. _Maybe I'm a masochist?_ He wondered, but then inhaled slowly. "I-I want to explain…" he said. Helga blinked once before she rolled her eyes again and let go of the door so that it would close behind her.

Arnold put a foot in front of the door, stopping it from closing so he could follow Helga into the classroom. She crossed her arms and turned around. "That wasn't an invitation, you know." She stated and he smiled sheepishly. "No, I kind of figured that out when you almost slammed the door in my face…" he said, trying to lighten the mood, but she clearly wasn't falling for it. "Arnold, you made your opinion clear Saturday night. You don't have to - - "

"No, I didn't and yes, I do." Arnold interrupted, seeing on Helga's face that wasn't a popular choice. "Helga… you'd say you know me, right?" he asked. Helga blinked a couple of times before she frowned. _More than you know._ She thought. "Where are you going with this?" she asked and watched him as he started scratching the back of his head. "I, um… You know I'm really dense, right?"

"People in outer space can see that. Get to the point, Shortman, before I lose my patience and lock you in here." Helga retorted and Arnold gulped, well aware that she wasn't kidding. "I'm bad at saying what I really mean." He finally stated and looked at her, hoping she would catch on; she was smarter than he was after all, but she was still frowning. "I'm counting down from ten." She stated impatiently. "Ten…"

"No, Helga. Wait!"

"Nine… eight…"

"Would you please just listen for once instead of flying off the handle?"

Helga's eyes widened in anger. "Three, two, one." She counted before grabbing her bag and trying to walk past Arnold. "No!" he yelled and stepped in front of her, blocking her from the door. She drawled a gasp in disbelief at what he had just done, but then she saw the sudden shine in his eyes. "Move aside, Arnold-o, before I punch you into a pulp! I mean it this time." She warned before pushing him to the side and grabbing the door.

"No, wait, please!" Arnold begged and Helga felt him grab her hand. She made a low gasp, the rest of her body freezing at the familiar warmth of his hand. _What an unfair trick…_ She thought and turned her head to look at him. He was staring at her with wide, puppy-like eyes. He stepped closer to her and she leaned against the door. She just looked at him as he closed his eyes and kissed her lips softly. He could hear her make a growl in discontent, but she didn't push him away.

Arnold leaned back, smiling at Helga, silently thanking her for staying. She was clearly unhappy with him as he put his hand into his pocket and started fumbling with something. She noticed his eyes returning to their normal color as he practically walked around himself like a clumsy cartoon character in an attempt at getting whatever he needed out of his pocket. She almost snickered, but held it back; she didn't want him to know that he was slowly winning her over. He smiled awkwardly at her and finally pulled a note out of his pocket. She shot him a slanted look. "You've gotta be kidding."

"Gerald told me to practice what I was gonna say, but… I didn't want to memorize lines. It'd make it look fake, so I - - "

The sound of the bell ringing cut Arnold's sentence off and the blondes stepped aside before some of the first students, the paragons of virtue, walked inside. Once the door was clear, Helga took the chance and hurried outside. "Wait!" Arnold said, but she didn't. She walked with quick steps through the swarm of students. She knew it was ridiculous trying to get away from Arnold; they had classes together after all so he would catch up with her at some point, and yet she couldn't bring herself to slow down.

A hand finally grabbed Helga's, but before she could whip it out of the grip, she felt something poke her palm. The hand left hers and she curled a fist around whatever she had just been given. "Please just read it." Arnold begged, his voice dangerously close to her ear. When she turned her head, surely enough he was walking right behind her. She scowled at him before they walked into the class. _Hell no. I'm not reading this pity note of his._ She thought and considered throwing the note out, but her hand refused listening to her so she ended up sitting down with the note still clutched in her fist.

"You're not gonna believe this!" Rhonda voice suddenly boomed as she walked into class. She got her peers' attention easily; the voice she was talking with meant that she had some juicy gossip and that usually got people listening. "Luka just went to the nurse with a broken nose!" she bellowed unhappily. Some of the girls gasped in horror, while some boys just looked baffled. Helga though had to put a hand to her mouth in order not to snicker. Her whole body was shaking with silent laughter and she could hear that Arnold was trying to hold back as well, but wasn't as successful as her. Her eyes traveled towards his and she rolled her eyes when she saw the shine in them. _Gleeful too, huh?_ She observed and looked back at Rhonda.

"Who would do something so horrible?!" Nadine asked in shock. "Someone who had enough of him…" Helga mumbled before Phoebe sat down next to her. The Asian girl was about to talk to her, but Rhonda beat her to it. "It was you, wasn't it?" she asked in horror, causing most of the class to look at Helga. The blonde simply leaned back in her chair casually and shrugged. That was answer enough it seemed because some of the boys whistled at her. "Helga, you're my hero!" Harold bellowed behind her and she let her head fall back to smirk at him. "That smug self-centered son of a bitch had it coming!" he continued and lifted a flat palm towards her and she high-fived him.

"How can you possibly be happy about this?! Luka is a model; his career depends on his face! Why would you do something like that?" Rhonda asked and approached Helga, crossing her arms accusingly. "It was a message." The blonde answered and crossed her arms. "What was the message?" Rhonda asked irritably and Helga smiled. "_Don't try to kiss me_." She answered. The room was silent for a moment before murmurs of either disbelief, disgust or envy echoed in the room.

"Luka kissed you?" Rhonda asked with an almost hurt voice, but Helga couldn't bring herself to feel bad for her. "Yeah, so I gave him a kiss with a fist. Seemed appropriate, right?" she asked. "I can't believe you!" Rhonda bellowed after the shock had subsided. "The hottest boy in school, one of the top ten sexiest male models, _kisses_ you and you show your appreciation by punching him?! What is wrong with you?!"

"Why should I be appreciative?" Helga asked as she stood up from her seat. She could feel Phoebe grab her sleeve, hoping to get her to sit back down before she started a fight, but Helga stood her ground. "Oh, let's be honest, Helga. You're not exactly pretty. The fact that Luka shows the least bit of interest in you still baffles me." Rhonda hissed. "Interesting." Helga stated sarcastically. "Luka is the hottest boy in school according to you and he likes _me_… in your world that must mean that _I'm_ the hottest girl in school… which makes _you_ what, exactly?"

Rhonda was seething with anger at this point. "Helga, I'm warning you." she said and Helga snorted. "What are you gonna do? Scratch me and risk ruining your French manicure?" she asked and put her mouth near Rhonda's ear. "I'm warning _you_, Miss Wellington Lloyd…" she whispered. "I'm generous with my fists today… Don't let me give you a reason to have your nose fixed _again_."

When Helga pulled away again, Rhonda was looking at her with anger, fear and disbelief mixed together. She was about to say something when the teacher walked inside and looked at them curiously. "Is there a problem?" she asked with a bit of a warning tone in her voice. The girls stared each other down, waiting for whatever the other's move would be. Rhonda finally bowed down and shook her head. "Nothing." She answered before heading towards her seat, leaving Helga to sit back down as well. The teacher looked between them for a while, but then shrugged and started the class.

Arnold had expected Helga to read the note as soon as she had the chance, but it never happened. She kept it in her hand, seemingly having forgotten about it, but he noticed her loosening and tightening her fingers around the piece of paper from time to time. He looked up at the teacher, confirming that she was looking at the board and then used his pencil to gently poke Helga with the eraser. She looked down at her arm and then at him. He looked at her pleadingly and she rolled her eyes, ignoring his silent prayer.

Helga kept looking at her fist though where she was hiding the note. _Why would Arnold go through all this trouble just to apologize? I mean, even for Arnold this is ridiculous…_ She thought and then bit on her lip. _Why did he kiss me again anyway? He didn't apologize for that either so…_ She opened her palm and looked at the crumbled paper. _I'm not going to read it._ She decided in her mind even as she unfolded the paper and smoothed it so it was readable. _I'm not reading it._ She stated stubbornly even though her eyes were now skimming the words.

"Helga Pataki." A female voice said before Helga saw the note disappear out of her hand. She hissed in surprise and looked up at the teacher who was scowling at her. "Are you passing notes in my class, Miss Pataki?" she asked. "I can honestly say _no_, I am not passing any notes." Helga answered. "But you're reading one?" the teacher questioned, but Helga denied it. _Whoa, I'm really not honest, am I?_ Helga thought sarcastically as the teacher sighed. "How about we share this amusing note with the class?" she asked and opened it to read it. Both Arnold and Helga were staring at her in disbelief, praying she would change her mind.

The teacher seemed to read the note to herself first and the class waited expectantly. Then the woman turned to quirk an eyebrow at Arnold and he tried to hide himself behind the desk by slowly falling down. The woman snickered and then gave Helga the note back. "Take my advice, Miss Pataki. Mr. Shortman seems to be one in a million. Forgive him." She said and winked at her. Helga almost blushed before she looked at Arnold who was blushing as well. "But don't read notes in my class, understand?" the teacher warned before she walked back to the board.

Helga looked down at the note, ignoring the curious stares she was getting from her classmates. She bit on her lip as she slowly unfolded it, but slammed it down on the table when she heard the teacher say her name. "Read it later, Miss Pataki." She warned and Helga nodded obediently. Once the teacher had turned her back to her though, Helga quickly unfolded the paper. "Miss Pataki!" the teacher shouted, having obviously seen it coming. Helga quickly shoved the note into her pocket and put her chin in her palm in a pouting manner. _Sadist!_ She thought with a sigh and stuck her tongue out at Phoebe, who was smiling teasingly at her.

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><p>Helga was tapping impatiently on the table, her eyes practically glued to the clock on the wall. Her leg was bouncing underneath the desk and Phoebe had begged her to stop on several occasions, but she had ignored her. <em>Come on… Come on!<em> She begged the clock, hoping that staring at it would somehow make it go faster. There was only a minute left of class before they were done for the day and she could finally read the note. "Be ready to run." Phoebe suddenly whispered and Helga looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?" she asked just before the bell rang.

Helga barely had time to grab her bag before Phoebe grabbed her hand and pulled her with her. "Phoebe?!" Helga shrieked in surprise before she heard some of her peers call her name behind her. _Oh… smart girl, Phoebe._ Helga stated as she picked up her pace and followed Phoebe easily. The girl led her outside and turned a corner before some of their classmates ran outside. "Where did she go?" Sid asked in confusion and looked around. "What's going on with Miss Pataki and Arnold?" Stinky wondered aloud as he scratched his head. "That's what we're trying to find out!" Harold answered before they continued towards the street.

Helga and Phoebe sighed in relief. "Vultures!" Helga declared before putting her hand into her pocket and unfolding the note. "What does it say?" Phoebe asked excitedly. "You're not any better." Helga teased as she smirked and then started reading the note. She could feel that Phoebe was reading it with her, occasionally mumbling the words on the paper. Helga's heartbeat sped up the more the read and she almost dropped the note once she had reached the final words.

Phoebe couldn't help but coo excitedly once Helga had stopped reading. Helga's cheeks were flushing and she could feel tears prickling on her eyes. "Arnold…" she said in awe before she rubbed her palm against her eye. "Helga, you did it!" Phoebe shrieked and grabbed Helga's hands. Helga started laughing as the girl bounced around and Helga finally caved in, bouncing happily with her too and hugging her. "Phoebe, I can't believe it! I can't believe Arnold - - "

Helga stopped in the middle of her sentence, choking on her own words while the rest of her body froze. Phoebe looked at her in confusion before she turned her head and noticed that Arnold and Gerald were staring at them. While Gerald was trying to hold back his laughter, Arnold was blushing furiously. Phoebe barely managed to see that Helga was blushing in mortification too before the blonde grabbed her bag and made a run for it.

"Helga!" Phoebe called, but Helga just screamed in horror as she ran away. "You didn't see this, Arnold, you did not see that, your hear me?!" she screamed before she turned the corner and Arnold just nodded, unsure of what else to do. He felt Gerald pat his back roughly. "You finally did it, Arnold. Whatever you wrote in that note worked." He complimented. "I-I don't understand why she was that happy though." Arnold admitted shyly. "All I wrote is that what I mean Saturday night was that I didn't see her as an object, not that I didn't like that Dark Arnold flirted with her."

"Ah, well…" Gerald said and scratched his neck innocently. "Maybe that's all it took?" he suggested as Phoebe crouched and grabbed the note, which had fallen to the ground at some point through her and Helga's cheerful dance. "I _was_ wondering why the handwriting seemed to change suddenly." Phoebe said as she waved the note knowingly. "I believe Helga was too excited to notice."

"Huh?" Arnold said in confusion and grabbed the note. His eyes quickly scanned the words and his face flushed scarlet red. "Gerald!" he scolded and the African boy instantly started running. "Why would you add these things in my note?!" Arnold shouted in embarrassment as he ran after the boy. "I knew you'd be too vague so I spiced it up a little! It's not like I wrote anything that wasn't true!" Gerald insisted and jumped over the fence, Arnold still hot on his trail. "But telling her that she is the girl of my dreams is too much information!" Arnold shouted and stopped in front of the fence even though he could easily have jumped over it like Gerald had.

"It all ended well, didn't it?" Gerald asked happily, his voice fading as he ran away off in the horizon. Arnold growled in frustration before he felt a small hand pat his shoulder soothingly. Phoebe was giggling, clearly trying to hold a full-blown laugh back. Arnold scratched his neck. "Was she… really that happy?" he asked and Phoebe nodded. "How can you ask after seeing her dance like that?" she asked teasingly as he looked down at the note. He started smiling. "Well… Gerald's right… It's all true so I guess it's ok."

A bit farther away, Gerald had slowed down his pace to a jog. "Helga!" he called, hoping to find her again, but it was she, who found him. He felt his collar being tucked at and he was forced to walk a couple of steps back as she pulled at him. "H-Hey, Helga. How's it going? How long have you been hiding here?" he asked sheepishly as she let go of his hood. "Long enough." She answered with a grin. "So… you decided to mess with Arnold's note?"

"Um… I-I only meant to help my homeboy. I didn't write anything he hadn't already told me, I swear!" Gerald said as he waved his hands apologetically. "This basically means you've known Arnold likes me too for some time though, right?" Helga asked as she walked towards him as he walked backwards. "W-Well, yeah, but I couldn't tell on him the same way I couldn't tell on _you_, right?"

"So through all this you knew I liked Arnold and Arnold liked me and you've said _nothing_?"

"I changed the note! I helped you two!"

"Indeed you did." Helga said as Gerald finally hit a wall and gulped. "Are you gonna punch me?" he asked, but she shook her head. "Thank you." She said and his eyes widened in shock. He blinked once, twice, thrice before she lost her patience. "Nothing to say?" she asked and he shook his head. "I've never heard Helga Pataki thanking someone before." He said nervously, but then started grinning. "Does this mean that now you're dating my best friend you're gonna be this nice all the time?" he asked and she shot him a grin. "Don't push it, Gerald-o."

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><p><strong>Author's 2<strong>**nd**** note: Ta-dah! This isn't the end or anything, but I figured it would be a good place to end it since the next chapter might take longer due to Christmas! (Dang it! Dx) I have, by the way, just uploaded a one-shot in the Christmas spirit called 'Santa baby'. Please check it out ;)**


	9. He is nowhere, but always there

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned in this story.**

**They all belong to their rightful owner: Craig Bartlett.**

**Title: "Alter ego"**

**In the last chapter:**_** After the misunderstanding Saturday night, Arnold was determined to fix the confusion between himself and Helga. To his unhappiness though, Helga wasn't very keen on talking to him and she was hard to get ahold of.**_

_**Luka, without knowing what had happened, sprung to the opportunity and once more tried to tell Helga about his feelings. Once again, she rejected him, but didn't get far enough away before he kissed her, which resulted in a punch from the feisty girl.**_

_**Arnold finally gave Helga a note where had had explained what he had meant Saturday night and after reading it, Helga was on cloud nine even though both she and Arnold knew Gerald had tampered with the note in order to spice things up.**_

**Author's 1****st**** note: So, you may notice that the 'layout' of this chapter is different from the rest. Basically, I've been told by more than one reviewer that a grammar rule is to change the paragraph whenever someone new is talking – that's how I understood it at least. I've been told that before, but must admit I've been stubborn about following that rule since I think it looks weird. I don't like short paragraphs; to me it looks kind of lazy, but I'm caving in now. If it's a rule, it's a rule and I guess I have to follow them :P So, yeah, I'm hoping this looks more "right".**

**[Please notify me if you notice any grammar mistakes. This isn't my first language, so there's bound to be mistakes.]**

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><p><span>Chapter 9: "He is nowhere, but always there"<span>

_What the hell is wrong with me?_ Helga wondered as she hid near the fence in front of the school. _This is not how I imagined I would react on this day… Not that I seriously expected Arnold to pick me up on a white stallion and we would ride off into the sunset and forget all logic about how sunset don't appear at 8 o'clock in the morning._

The shaky blonde stepped to the side and looked towards the school. "God, I'm pathetic." She declared before feeling a hand on her shoulder and jumping ten feet into the air.

"Did I surprise you?" Arnold asked with a knowing grin while the embarrassed blonde scowled at him. _Him and his killer smirk._ She thought with a sigh. "Are you hiding or something?" he asked with lopsided grin.

Helga frowned at him until she saw the shade in his eyes. Then she quirked an eyebrow. "What makes you think that I'm hiding?"

"I don't know. Maybe because you're standing glued against the wall behind the school? That usually does the trick if you wanna hide." Arnold said as he leaned closer. Helga automatically stepped back even though she knew he wasn't trying anything but tease her right then; there was something more playful in his eyes rather than seductive.

She frowned at him. "Obviously I'm not doing a very good job. You found me so easily." She observed with a huff.

"That's only because I was looking for you." Arnold admitted and smirked. "I'm sure you fooled everyone else."

_Looking for me?_ Helga thought before her cheeks turned slightly red. _Wait. That reminds me; where does yesterday leave me and Arnold…? We're not exactly dating, are we? But I like him and he likes me and we know that so… so what? Ugh, when you're child you just ask and get a straight answer. Growing up means things get complicated._

The thought filled girl was pulled out of her reverie when she felt her cheek being pinched. Her eyes widened and she stared into the cocky grin of Arnold.

"What's with that worried face?" he asked as he kept pulling on her cheek.

"Lemme go!" Helga ordered before slapping his hand away. _What's he so happy-go-lucky-happy about?_ She wondered as she crossed her arms.

Arnold just kept grinning as he wrapped his arm around hers. "Come on, we'll be late if we don't hurry." He pointed out and pulled her along.

"H-Hey!" Helga complained, but found herself following the happy boy anyway. _He's Dark Arnold right now, so why do I feel like Pink Arnold is more appropriate?_ She wondered as she saw his flushed cheeks, his wide grin making it even more apparent.

"Arnold!" Helga scolded and pulled her arm back. Arnold almost stumbled, but managed to keep his balance to turn and look at her. She looked at him in disbelief. "We can't just stroll casually in there, you know."

Arnold blinked in confusion. "Why not? We go to school there, don't we?" he asked.

Helga sighed at the boy's stupidity. "I mean _we_ can't just stroll in there _arm-in-arm_." She pointed out and wiggled her arm for good measure.

Arnold looked down at their linked arms and shrugged before letting go of her. "Why not?"

"Were we not in the same class yesterday?"

"We've been in the same class every year since preschool, Helga."

"I know that!" Helga shouted in frustration. "I mean, didn't you notice our classmates' reaction to the fact that you simply passed me a note? I was basically chased away from my own desk; it was a friggin' rampage! What's gonna happen when we come to school together like this?"

The shade in Arnold's eyes seemed to fade as he scratched his neck. "Oh, sorry. I didn't think about what others might think." He admitted.

"Well, that's just who you are, Arnold-o and that's a good thing… most of the time." Helga said with a smile, bumped her shoulder against his before she walked towards the school. Arnold stood back and watched Helga as she bounced a little on her feet, clearly in a good mood. A smile spread on his face before he followed her inside, making sure to keep his appropriate distance.

Helga couldn't help but let her eyes travel over her shoulder and in Arnold's direction. She knew he was following her and not just because they had classes together. She shook her head good-heartedly before she opened the door and stepped into her classroom. The usual sound of chatter died down instantly and Helga was met with curious stares from her peers. She felt the weight of the door disappear from her hand when Arnold stepped inside too.

"I think we just entered the twilight zone, Arnold-o." Helga stated.

_I guess Helga was right. I honestly thought she was being paranoid…_ Arnold thought and mentally apologized to Helga before he followed her towards their seats. The blondes barely sat down before the boys and girls started questioning them. While Arnold tried listening to every question and somewhat answer, Helga simply ignored them though she got angrier and angrier with each stupid questioned that drawled from their petty mouths.

"Shut up! Do you guys feed on other people's drama or something? Why am I so interesting all of a sudden?" Helga asked with her eyebrows knitted together in frustration.

"Helga, are you and Arnold dating now?" Sheena asked.

"Are you ever so much in love?" Lila asked.

"You two also went to the dance together. Did something happen between you?" Nadine asked.

"Shut up!"

Everyone turned to look at the blonde in shock, but not the blonde they had assumed those words had come from. "Arnold…" some of the boys muttered in shock as they watched the seething boy. Arnold growled at them, looking in Helga's direction. She gulped at the sight of his eyes, but was in fact relieved to have him explode before she did.

"Are you all lacking your usual fix of gossip or is it really so shocking that Helga and I aren't playing cat and mouse anymore?" Arnold asked and Helga couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow at his choice of words. _I think it's more like the tables have turned._ She observed in her mind with little displeasure at the reminder.

"But, Arnold, you have to admit that this came out of nowhere!" Rhonda insisted.

Arnold shot her a seething stare before he stood up to face her. "It's_ not_ out of nowhere… If any of you had enough time to get your heads out of your asses and see beyond your own noses, you would have noticed I've liked Helga for years!" he yelled in frustration, unsure why he was saying the things he was saying. He wasn't sure where this sudden anger came from. Maybe a part of him really was tired of having to solve everything for everyone else without anyone caring about he felt or taking the time to even ask.

"For years?!" they all shouted in shock and looked questioningly at Helga, who was fighting violently against the blush that was threatening to spread on her cheeks. _For years?!_ She screamed inside her own head, but shook her head at the others.

"D-Don't look at me; this is the first I've heard of _years_!" she said, waving her hands in slight panic.

The vultures in front of Helga seemed ready to throw a hissy fit before the sound of the door opening again stopped them. The sight of Luka with plaster on his nose caused the girls to gasp loudly, all except for Helga whose eyebrows simply knitted together in semi-surprise. _Huh. I've still got it._ She observed before the girls ran to Luka, all asking him if he was all right and if this would affect his modeling.

"It's going to be all right, girls. I explained the situation to my agent and luckily, the doctor said it shouldn't take too long to heal." Luka explained with a small smile, which disappeared when he felt the ache from his nose travel to his jaw.

"You poor thing." Rhonda said as she caressed his cheek before shooting Helga a hateful stare. "Look what you've done! You can't punch a model in the face; that's just not right."

Helga crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair until she could rest her knee against her desk. "I've never been one to give special treatment. Model, handy-man or hunchbacked bell-ringer; I _will_ punch your lights out if you push me far enough." She retorted.

Rhonda growled. "He can sue you, you know." She pointed out, but all Helga did was quirk an eyebrow. Rhonda looked at Luka. "I think you should."

Luka snickered and shook his head. "I have a feeling it's a lose-lose situation for me if I do that." He said.

"Why?" Rhonda asked in confusion.

"Because, _princess_, if Luka is going to sue me he has to explain why I punched him to begin with." Helga said with a smug smile. "Somehow, I don't think a rumor about him forcing himself on a girl would benefit his modeling career."

"No one would believe that Luka Mikos had to _force_ himself on a girl!" Nadine insisted in disbelief, but Helga could see that a part of her was enjoying seeing Rhonda so pissed.

"Ooh, the scandal. I can read the headlines already." Helga said sarcastically. "_Local girl from Hillwood punches Greek model after he tries to kiss her; Is she insane?_"

"We can all vouch for your insanity, Helga." Gerald said with a chuckle and Helga couldn't help but snicker as well, despite the glares they both got from the girls.

"You two think this is funny?!" Rhonda shouted, but Luka put his hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"It's ok, Rhonda. I'm just gonna take Arnold's advice and stay away from Helga." Luka said before heading towards his seat.

Helga quirked an eyebrow in Arnold's direction and he blushed a bit at the reminder. "Arnold's words rather than my fist is what convinced you to stay outta my sight?" she asked.

Luka groaned. "Not, but I figured saying it was Arnold and not a girl who hit me would make me less embarrassed." He admitted.

Helga blinked a couple of times before she rolled her eyes. "Poor, arrogant jerk…" she muttered under her breath, noticing that she hadn't whispered low enough for Rhonda not to hear. "I am so sick of your attitude - - "

Rhonda's rant was stopped before it could start when the teacher entered the classroom. Wanting to avoid a scene like yesterday, Rhonda decided to jog to her seat without another word. On her way though, she kicked at Helga's desk only to stumble when Helga stretched her leg out in front of her feet.

"You're a million years too early to try and outsmart me, princess." Helga said in a sing-song voice before Rhonda sat down with a growl.

* * *

><p>Helga leaned back in her chair, sighing in relief once the first class was over. "Wish to join me outside, Helga?" Phoebe asked with her usual cheerful smile.<p>

Helga smiled back. "Naw, Phoebs. I think I'll stay inside right now. I need some peace to think." She answered. Phoebe nodded at her before she headed outside, waving at the exhausted blonde before disappearing out of sight.

Helga waited patiently until everyone was gone before she stretched her arms high above her head. "Sorry for lying, Phoebe. Truthfully, I just don't want to deal with our classmates right now." She said aloud, though no one was there to hear it before letting her chin fall to her desk. _What a day… and it's not even done yet._

"Tally-ho, Helga." A chirpy voice said and Helga flinched at the sound. _I swear, Lila's voice could break a freaking vase._ She decided before turning her head to look at the redhead.

"Around here the word is hello, country bumpkin. You've been dating Stinky for too long; you're going back to your old ways." Helga said before letting her chin rest in her palm.

"Oh, I'm ever so sorry, Helga." Lila said, not seeing how Helga flinched at her words once more. "I was hoping I could perhaps ask you for a favor though?"

"A favor?" Helga repeated in surprise. She and Lila weren't exactly friends though Helga didn't hate the girl with a burning passion anymore. Arnold had liked the girl when they were children, but once he had given up on her, Helga's hatred had slowly faded away along with Arnold's interest. Hating someone would require an emotional commitment after all and Lila wasn't that important to Helga anymore.

Lila nodded solemnly. "Something ever so terrible has happened." She said.

"Your puppy died?"

"Oh, stop it, silly. You know I'm allergic to dogs even if I still find them ever so adorable."

Helga rolled her eyes. "_Right_… So, what could possibly be wrong in your cotton candy world?"

"You see, I promised the art class I am participating in to find a model for today's class. I had found one, but she just texted me and cancelled because she's gotten sick. Now I don't know what to do! The other art students will be ever so disappointed if I turn up without a model."

"Cool story. Now what does it have to do with me?"

"Well, Helga… I was hoping perhaps I could persuade you to model for us after school?" Lila asked sweetly, her fingers tangled pleadingly.

Helga's eyes almost fell out of their eye sockets before she stood up, slamming her palms unto the desk in the process. "Are you insane?!"

"Oh, Helga, you would be absolutely perfect!"

"I fail to see how! Ask Luka; he's already a model. Broken nose or not, he'll be better at it than me."

"The theme for this month is the _female_ body, Helga. I will ask Luka next month when we are focusing on the male body. We have been painting many nude models before and we need some different body types to truly capture the beauty of each shape - - "

"Excuse me; _nude_?! Ok, skirt, any chance you may have had of convincing me just flew out the window. Ask one of the others! How about Rhonda? She'd love the attention." Helga suggested, feeling goose bumps travel all over her skin at the mere thought of posing naked.

"Rhonda already modeled for us. She volunteered, in fact."

"Why aren't I shaking with shock?"

"Oh, Helga, I have always adored your sass ever so much." Lila said with a small giggle.

Helga shot her a slanted look. "Surely you're kidding? Flatter will get you nowhere. I'm not posing nude in front of some strangers. Besides, aren't there some boys in our class who takes art lessons too? Granted, because they figured it'd be an easy A."

"Well, yes, but - - "

"I'm out!" Helga declared before she walked towards the door, cursing Lila's name for having ruined her plans about some quiet time.

"No, wait. Helga, please. You're not going to be fully nude; we're not drawing porn! See." Lila begged. Helga sighed before she turned around and frowned at the sight of Lila with a sort of white shawl made of chiffon. The redhead threw it over her shoulder and tied it loosely around her waist. "Look, you will be covered in this. It will be very tasteful, I swear and if you're really uncomfortable, I have a pair of skin-colored panties you can wear. You'll be doing different poses of your own choice, so you won't be forced to do anything vulgar."

Helga observed the girl wrapped in the soft-looking fabric in front of her and sighed. "That sounds fine, but I'm not a girl who usually do other people favors without expecting something in return, so you got anything to offer?" she asked with a smirk.

"Well, you'll get paid."

"Money isn't an issue in my life, Lila, my dad just landed a huge deal last month. You gotta offer something else." Helga retorted.

Lila hummed thoughtfully before she smiled knowingly. "You know… Arnold's in the art class." She pointed out and saw how Helga's face changed at the information. _That's right. He is._ The blonde remembered and bit on her lower lip.

"Imagine his face when he sees you like this." Lila said and waved the shawl around temptingly.

Helga snickered in surprise. "You're surprisingly cunning, Lila. In another life, maybe you and I would have been friends." She said with a smirk.

Lila bounced happily. "Is that a yes?" she asked hopefully.

_Well… it would be fun to get a little revenge on Arnold for what he has put me through last week… _Helga thought and then sighed in surrender. "Let me wear the skin-colored panties and we have a deal." She said and cringed as the read jumped around happily. _Why did I agree to this…?_

* * *

><p><em>Why did I agree to this?!<em> Helga thought as she looked at herself in the mirror. She was currently wearing nothing but a pair of cream-colored panties, which were almost invisible on the taut skin around her hips and thighs. Helga usually wore boyshorts so these were much smaller than she was used to and she couldn't help but turn her body around to look at her backside. _Lila could have mentioned they were Tanga_…

A knock on the door caused Helga to jump and put her arms over her naked chest immediately. "L-Lila?" she asked unsurely. "I'm not sure I'm comfortable with this…"

"Try and see yourself with the shawl on first." Lila requested before the door opened and she offered the shawl. Helga almost smiled at how thoughtful Lila was being by not forcing her way inside. That was one of the few traits she and Helga's big sister Olga didn't have in common despite how similar they were. Olga wouldn't have cared about Helga's feelings in this situation and just insisted that she was her cute little sister and shouldn't be so insecure.

Helga sighed before grabbing the shawl from Lila's hand. She looked at herself in the mirror as she flipped it over her shoulder and tried to tie it casually around her waist like Lila had done earlier, but it ended up looking like a Toga.

"I can't do this properly." Helga admitted.

"May I come in?" Lila asked.

"I guess you have to."

Lila walked inside with a smile on her face. "Helga, I understand you may find this uncomfortable, but the theme this month is the female body. If you cover yourself up to this extent, there's no point. We need to be able to see your shape." She said kindly and adjusted the shawl on Helga's body.

"Easy for you to say. N-Not only am I supposed to pose almost nude, but the boys I've known since I was three years old are gonna be there, including the boy I've recently started… whatever it is we're doing with is going to be among them."

"And that is your incentive."

"Excuse me?"

"Arnold won't be able to keep his hands off you once he sees your beautiful, athletic body." Lila said, but Helga snorted. "I am ever so serious, Helga. You are not curvaceous like Rhonda or small and petite like Phoebe, but you have a healthy, athletic, hourglass figure that most girls would kill for."

Helga stared at hers and Lila's reflection in the mirror. The shawl was now hanging elegantly over Helga's right shoulder, covering the right half of her torso, leaving her left breast and her bow tattoo out in the open. The shawl was twisted around her hip so that they covered a bit down her thighs and nothing indecent was showing.

"Thank… Thank you, Lila." Helga stuttered shyly, surprised to hear a genuine and well-thought compliment.

"Don't thank me. I merely say it as I see it." Lila said with a smile. "So… are you ready?"

Helga took a deep breath and pulled the shawl over her breast, making sure it could stay covered for as long as she could get away with it. "A-As ready as I'll ever be." She answered before following Lila out of the small room. Helga looked around in the hallway, expecting someone to walk by any second.

"Don't worry, Helga. School is over for everyone else but the people in art class and they are all in the classroom." Lila pointed out and Helga cursed for being so obvious.

"So… remind me again how many people are in the art class?" Helga asked a little nervously, fidgeting with the shawl around her body.

"Most of them are girls, I'm the only one from our class though." Lila answered.

_That's something…_ Helga thought. "And the few that are boys?"

"Well, from our class there's Arnold, Curly, Eugene and Harold. Then there are a few other boys from other classes."

"So… Curly got to see Rhonda in the nude? I bet she didn't know he was taking that class."

Lila giggled. "No, she wasn't aware… It was… entertaining to watch when she realized she had to strip in front of Curly." She admitted.

Helga chuckled. "Whoa, Lila. When did you learn how to get gleeful?" she asked teasingly.

"I guess I've just gotten older. Rhonda isn't exactly the kindest person in the world, but even she has her good sides. The same you have your good sides too, Helga." Lila insisted.

"Don't compare me to Rhonda, it's not a compliment, I already told you that flattery will get you nowhere, Lila. I already said yes to doing this thing, so let's just get this over with." Helga hissed.

Lila shrugged obediently and opened the door into the classroom. "Good afternoon, everybody! Listen, the girl I had asked to model for us today had to cancel, but a girl from my own class was kind enough to volunteer as a substitute."

_Volunteer?!_ Helga repeated in her mind as she followed Lila into the classroom. _More like she somehow managed to trick me. What was I thinking?! Revenge over Arnold or not, this can't possibly be worth it._

The sound of a pencil, or perhaps more likely a paintbrush, falling to the ground caught Helga's ears and she looked towards it. She choked on absolutely nothing when she saw Arnold sitting on a chair with a sketchbook on his lap. His eyes were glued on her and his hand was still hovering as if he thought the paintbrush was still there, which Helga just realized was actually a pencil despite her former assumptions.

"Oh, Helga. How nice of you to volunteer." Eugene said with his usual dorky smile. "We would have been in quite the predicament if we didn't have a model today."

"Thanks, Eugene… Uh, where's the teacher?" Helga wondered.

"Oh, our teacher usually only shows up to give instructions. If we already know what to do, she trusts us to teach ourselves. That's also why it was my turn to find a model." Lila answered.

Helga nodded, unsure of what else to do. Lila nudged her elbow against her arm though and Helga figured she should introduce herself; she was a stranger to some people in the room after all. "Uh, I'm Helga Pataki. I… don't know what else to say."

A few girls chuckled kindly at Helga's awkwardness and simply waved at her.

"No way! Madam Fortress Mommy is gonna be our nude model today?!" Harold asked before he started laughing hysterically.

Helga growled before she went to his seat and grabbed his shirt in her fist. "Want me to do to you what I did to Luka yesterday?!" she threatened. Harold instantly shook his head violently and she let go of him, ignoring his snide comment when she did.

"Where do you want me, Lila?" Helga asked, ignoring the few snickers from the boys her question had brought on.

"Right on the small stage." Lila answered and Helga noticed that there was indeed what one might call a short stage in the middle of the room. She wasn't sure what was under the white tablecloth, but she figured it could hold her weight if it had held Rhonda's weight. Helga stepped on it and waited for some sort of instruction that never came.

"Drawing takes one hour per set. The model will change her pose every fifteen minutes." Lila said almost uncharacteristically professionally and Helga blinked. _An hour?! Well, I guess they need time to draw…_ She reminded herself, watching as Lila tapped on her phone, probably preparing the alarm while the art students prepared themselves to draw.

"You ready, Helga? You can choose whatever pose you're most comfortable with." Lila said and Helga couldn't help but think that the pose she'd be most comfortable with was being outside the door.

"Uh… I-I don't know, um - - "

"Oh, perhaps you'd like me to get you started?" Lila asked and put her phone down next to her own chair. Helga nodded as Lila approached her. The redhead whispered a suggestion in the blonde's ear and Helga frowned a bit. _Well, I guess that's an ok way to begin._ She thought and lay down on the stage. She posed in a fetal position and looked at Lila for confirmation that she had done it right. The redhead crouched next to her and removed some of the chiffon from her skin, leaving only her waist covered. Helga instantly threw and arm over her breasts, but didn't change her position besides that.

"Could you rest your other arm over the rest of your body, Helga?" Lila asked and the embarrassed blonde did as told. _Calm down._ Helga ordered herself and took a couple of deep breaths before closing her eyes. _I'm home alone. There's no one here. It's only me…_

"Ok, everybody. Begin." Lila said before tapping on her phone and the sound of pencils scribbling furiously on paper echoed in the room. Arnold gulped as he looked at the blank paper in his sketchbook. _How did Lila manage to convince Helga to do this…?_ He wondered, not complained, and lifted his head to look at the blonde. _She really is beautiful…_ He thought with a smile and started to outline her shape.

Arnold wasn't particularly art interested, but in comparison to some other classes he could have taken, he figured art class would be more laid back and he could kick back and relax towards the end of the school day. When the teacher had announced that the theme this month was the female body, he had almost considered resigning from the class. He had been extremely uncomfortable with the first pair of models, especially when he had to draw Rhonda. He felt dirty while doing it and he had somehow felt like he betrayed Helga, even though they hadn't made any progress back then.

Arnold had never expected to see Helga walk through that door. Had she known he was in the art class? Maybe she hadn't… but was that a good or a bad thing whether she had known already? Arnold looked up at Helga again. She looked a bit tense and she was clearly taking some deep breaths in order to relax. _She seems uncomfortable… so why did she agree to this?_ He wondered and looked back into his sketchbook._ I don't think it was for the money; Helga isn't really like that anymore… So why…?_

The sound of a loud beeping pulled Arnold out of his thoughts and he shook his head in confusion. _Fifteen minutes, already?!_ He thought and looked into his sketchbook. He hadn't done much except for outlining Helga's body and her hair. He blushed a little at the sight before turning the paper over to a blank one.

"Would you mind changing your pose, Helga?" Lila asked kindly.

Helga sat up, doing her best to stay covered even as she stretched. "Uh…" she mumbled and tried figuring out how to pose, but all things considered; her mind was turning into one big mess.

"Oh, can I request something?" one of the girls asked with a smile. Helga wasn't sure whether the girl really just wanted to request a pose or if she was trying to help her, but she nodded anyhow. The girl stood up from her seat and stepped in front of Helga, covering her as she guided her into a new position. By the time the girl was done, Helga had her arms twisted behind her back, her hair cascading over her arms. She was sitting on her knees and the chiffon covered her waist and her right breast.

"Is that ok?" the girl whispered. Helga smiled as she nodded. _So she really did try to help me._ She thought thankfully and whispered a thank you to the girl. The girl simply smiled back before moving away, thereby removing her body as a screen to Helga. The abrasive blonde had to force herself not to scowl when she heard one of the boys whistle. _Focus on Arnold!_ She told herself, thinking that he out of all the boys at least he wouldn't be looking at her with lewd eyes. Well, except for Eugene, but he was as gay as they got, so he didn't count.

When Helga looked at Arnold, their eyes met and the blonde boy instantly looked into his sketchbook. Helga couldn't help but cock her head to the side curiously. _Interesting. I had somehow expected Dark Arnold to come out, but this is regular shy Arnold…_ She thought, unsure whether she was relieved or disappointed.

Once Lila had declared that they were ready to start, Arnold's pencil started scribbling furiously on the paper. _Focus on the drawing, focus on the drawing…_ He told himself, but felt his eyes already traveling up to look at Helga. _This is not how I imagined seeing her naked for the first time… Well, not truly naked, but…_ He thought and his eyes caught sight of Helga's creamy breast. _Get your mind out of the gutter!_ He scolded himself and attempted to draw again. _Helga didn't come here just to feed my dirty thoughts!_

As soon as Arnold has insisted on that, he stopped drawing. _Wait…_ He thought and looked up at Helga whom he noticed was still looking at him. _Could she… be doing this on purpose…? Did she come here to tease me…?_ He wondered and as if she could read his mind, she blinked at him. He flinched, feeling his entire body react to the small gesture. He put his sketchbook down flat on his lap, attempting to hide his reaction to the world. _She might be doing this on purpose. She's always bullied me and this is just a new tactic, isn't it?_

Arnold could feel Helga's eyes on him. Her eyebrows lifted in surprise and he jolted at the knowing look the cocky blonde suddenly shot him. _Well, well… it was worth coming here after all._ She thought. _Poor Football Head. Now you know what you've been doing to me lately_.

The beeping echoed again and Lila declared that Helga should change her pose.

One of the girls were about to suggest something, but Helga waved it off. "No, thank you. I think I'm more relaxed now." She admitted. She let her hair fall down her back and placed her palms on the soles of her feet. The chiffon fell a little down on her shoulder, uncovering her other breast. She could hear a few gulps in the room, probably from the boys she figured. She winked at Arnold once more and she could see that he finally realized why she was doing this. _Serves you right._ She thought before sticking her tongue out at him.

Arnold almost groaned before Lila declared they could begin drawing again. _It's revenge, I know it. I guess I can't blame her; Dark Arnold has been messing with her a lot lately…_ He thought as he turned the page and started to outline her shape. He took a deep breath before he looked at her again, watching how she was curling her back elegantly like a cat. He gulped and felt that his pencil was moving on its own even though his eyes were still glued on Helga.

_Uh… perhaps I hadn't thought this through._ Helga thought as she felt a familiar warmth spread in her body and a tingling sensation between her thighs. _Arnold is, after all, looking at my almost naked body right now – why didn't I think about myself reacting?!_

Helga almost sighed in relief when Lila said it was time to change into her last position. Time was really flying by and yet Helga felt as if she had been there for hours.

"Uh, can I request a pose?" Arnold asked, moving his hand into the air as he spoke. Helga quirked an eyebrow at his eagerness and shrugged.

He stood up from his seat and sat down on his knees next to her. "You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?" he asked as he touched the chiffon on her thighs, moving it down to cover her up a bit more.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Helga lied with a shrug. Arnold shot her a glance that told her he didn't believe her one bit. He didn't say another word though as he put his hand on her hip and guided her to lie down even with her legs still bend. He knew she was flexible enough to handle this pose since no pain showed on her face. _Damn it._ He thought with reddened cheeks, tightened his grip on her flesh for a moment before standing up and moving back to his seat.

_Interesting choice._ Helga thought as she moved her arms up, attempting a casual but seductive pose. It seemed to work because the boys she wasn't familiar with all moved their sketchbooks down to their laps like Arnold had earlier.

The only ones who seemed unaffected were the girls, Curly and Eugene. Even Harold was coughing unnaturally from time to time, definitely in an inner battle with himself whether he really would admit that he found Madam Fortress Mommy attractive despite their battles over the years.

Helga didn't care about all the others though. Her eyes were fixed on Arnold and she knew he was looking at her even though he was pretending he wasn't. Helga arched her back a little more, purely due to the fact she was getting a little uncomfortable, but the reaction she got from the boys was priceless. Some gulped, some even moaned a little bit and others shut their eyes in order to control themselves.

Helga could hear some of the girls whispering about how disgusting the boys were for seeing a naked female and then only be able to think about sex. Helga almost snickered. _Innocent and naïve._ She thought gleefully about the girls. _Wait until you hear that the theme for next month is the male body; let's see if you can still think only about art then._

"Thank you for doing this for us, Helga." Lila said just before her phone beeped again.

The blonde sat up, moving the chiffon over her breasts to cover up. "You're welcome, Lila. It was…" she said and looked in Arnold's direction as she tied the fabric around her torso and waist. "Surprisingly fun."

Arnold almost growled at Helga's comment, but he was too focused on watching her as she stood up from the stage and stretched once more. She may have been completely covered up when she did that, but her stretching still earned a few gulps from the boys around her.

"See you tomorrow." Helga said casually and waved before she walked out of the room.

Arnold sighed in almost relief before he skimmed through his drawings. His whole body relaxed and tensed at the same time at each image of Helga in his sketchbook. He barely heard Lila when she suggested taking a ten minute break and yet he was the first one to leave the room. He walked through the hallway and towards the room he knew the models dressed and redressed. He knew his eyes were burning, but his common sense failed to stop him from opening the door into where he knew Helga was.

Helga had already pulled her jeans up to her hips and her bra was on, but she hadn't buttoned up the shirt yet so when Arnold burst in, he could see her pink bra, which was innocent compared to what he had seen earlier and yet his eyes started at her breasts in the reflection.

"Arnold!" Helga shrieked in surprise before she wrapped her shirt around her body, not bothering to attempt buttoning it while he was in the room. "What are you doing?"

Arnold looked into Helga's eyes through the mirror. She had slightly flushed cheeks, obviously surprised to see him there. He stepped closer and she tensed.

"A-Arnold, what are you…" Helga started, but didn't finish her sentence before Arnold wrapped his arms around her, hugging her with his face burrowed in her hair. She stared at her own reflection of being embraced like that by a boy, and Arnold for that matter. It was a strange image, but not unwelcome.

"Please don't… do that again." Arnold begged in a muffled voice, but Helga could hear him.

"Do what…?"

"I don't… I don't want others to see you like that… I want to be the only one." Arnold admitted almost shyly and Helga felt her cheeks flare up. _Cute!_ She squeaked inside her mind, feeling her heart speed up to a hundred miles the hour. "Please, promise?" Arnold asked and Helga nodded, but remember that he couldn't see her.

"Y-Yeah, sure. No problem. I-I only did it because Lila practically begged anyway…" Helga answered and Arnold let go of her.

"Thank you." The blonde boy said gratefully before kissing the blonde girl's neck and then leaving her alone. Helga almost fell to her knees, but forced herself to stay standing up. _Oh, boy. Oh, boy. Oh, boy… I can handle aggressive Arnold better than this cute and pleading one. I swear, if he asked me to kill someone in that voice, I'd probably do it_. She thought and put her hand over the spot Arnold had kissed. _I guess we're both changing, Arnold_.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's 2<strong>**nd**** note: Be happy! I wrote this as quickly as I could after getting home from Norway. I'm going to my Dad's to celebrate Christmas today so there really won't be anymore chapters for a while. I should be able to get the next chapter uploaded before the new year, but I can't say when so… Yep :3 Happy holidays and happy New Year's! :D**


	10. He can be bad

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned in this story.**

**They all belong to their rightful owner: Craig Bartlett.**

**Title: "Alter ego"**

**In the last chapter:**_** After Arnold and Helga had their semi-confession, Helga wasn't sure how to face the blonde boy. It didn't help that their childhood friends decided to make their pseudo-relationship the newest center of gossip even though both Arnold and Helga were quick to put them in their place.**_

_**Helga had at first said no to Lila's request of her posing nude for the art class, but after hearing that Arnold was in the class, Helga figured it was time to get some revenge. To her happiness, despite the embarrassment that came along, she managed to avenge herself. Even if Arnold did beg her to never do such a thing again after.**_

**Author's 1****st**** note: Ok, I suddenly realized when I first started writing this chapter (when I finally got around to do it and ignore the severe writer's block I suddenly incurred) that this is not the last chapter, but the second last. So, basically, there'll only be this one and another chapter, so eleven chapters in all. Some might be thinking: "Booh!", but here's the thing… From the beginning I said it'd be a short story and secondly, frankly, I'm starting to lose a bit of interest in the story due to the main plot being, well, **_**only**_** about Arnold's dark side :/**

**I have chosen which of my many story ideas I'll be writing about next and it's one I've been looking forward to start writing since I finished my first long fan fiction **_**Blackmail toy**_**. So I'm basically really eager to start that project so I'm going to attempt getting this finished as soon as possible – with grace of course, I'm not going to just jog all the way through this and be lazy xD Anyways, enough rant! Enjoy reading :3**

**[Please notify me if you notice any grammar mistakes. This isn't my first language, so there's bound to be mistakes.]**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 10: "He can be bad"<span>

One would have to be blind not to see what was going on. Blue eyes met green eyes every now and then and it was always followed by somewhat of an awkward, but very happy smile from one or both of the blondes. The female blonde felt a nudge to her shoulders and she lifted her head to look at both a redhead and a ravenette.

"Are you two ever going to make it official?" Lila asked as she batted her eyelashes, her chin resting in her palm.

Helga looked away innocently. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Don't play coy, Helga." Phoebe said with a smirk. "You and Arnold are looking at each other whenever you get the chance."

"So?"

"You _smirk_ whenever you do." Lila pointed out. "And when you aren't smiling, you're smizing."

"Smizing?" Helga repeated in confusion.

Lila nodded. "It means to smile with your eyes. Luka taught us girls about it."

"So it's a model thing? Gee, thanks for the insult in disguise, Lila." Helga pointed out with an artificial pout before looking towards Arnold again. He had obviously been looking in her direction, since he shot her an embarrassed smile before coughing in his hand and looking back at his food.

"This is getting ever so frustrating! You and Arnold have already admitted your feelings; why haven't you gone any further?" Lila asked as she clapped on the table a couple of times for effect.

Helga frowned at the redhead. "We haven't really admitted our feelings for each other per say. More like we're aware of each other."

"Then become more _aware_." Lila teased before nudging her elbow against Helga's arm.

"Lila!" the scowling blonde scolded in surprise, but start laughing right after. "All right, all right. I get the picture. Arnold and I are finally getting closer and all I'm doing is sitting around and sighing like some love-struck school girl. I need to take some action."

Lila clapped happily. "That's my girl!"

"When did I become _your_ girl?" Helga asked sarcastically as she stood up. "If I belong to anyone, it's Arnold."

The three girls giggled before the blonde one of them started walking through the cafeteria. "Wait." She said before turning back and sitting down on her chair. "What the fuck do I say?"

"What do you mean; what do you say?"

"I mean _what_ do I say!"

"Just ask him out on a date." Phoebe suggested as if it was the easiest thing on the earth.

Helga shot the Asian girl a bored glare. "What would I say if I told you to do the same with Gerald?"

"Th-That's not the same thing." Phoebe stuttered, glancing at Lila who was smirking knowingly at her. "You and Arnold have already had somewhat of a confession. You know he likes you, he knows you like him; asking him out should be a breeze!"

_Oh, wait._ Helga thought and looked towards Gerald who was sitting next to Arnold. _That reminds me… The only reason I never told Phoebe that I know Gerald has feelings for her is because I was afraid he'd tell on me to Arnold… Now that Football Head and I are where we are, why should I protect Gerald's secret? Especially since I know Phoebe feels the same._

"You're right, Phoebe." Helga said before heading towards Arnold and Gerald's table again.

The blonde boy seemed to notice her straight away and smiled at her. "Hi, Helga." He said almost shyly, but definitely beaming.

_Oh, God. How adorable is he?_ She thought and had to shake her head not to get into her own personal dream world. "Hi there, Arnold. Uh, could I borrow Tall Hair Boy for a bit?" she asked as she pointed at the dark-skinned boy.

Arnold looked at Gerald in surprise who looked just as surprised. "Me?" he questioned and Helga nodded before waving her finger at him, beckoning him to follow her.

Gerald was in the middle of standing up when Arnold grabbed his arm. "What does she want to talk to you about?"

"I don't know. That's why I'm gonna follow her." Gerald answered before rolling his eyes. "Relax, lover boy. I'm sure it's about you."

The blonde kid frowned in embarrassment as he watched his best friend following the girl he was in love with out of the cafeteria. Once they were outside, Helga turned to smirk at Gerald. "I believe you and I have forgotten a teensy-weensy detail…" she said and Gerald shrugged in confusion. "You have nothing on me anymore."

Gerald's eyebrows knitted together and he looked around as if he was expecting a camera to jump into his face any second. He started scratching his head. "Uh… I'm not sure I'm following your thinking, Helga."

"We agreed that I wouldn't tell Phoebe about your feelings for her as long as you didn't tell Arnold about mine for him, right?"

"Well, yeah, but what does that…" Gerald started, but his brown eyes widened when he realized what the blonde girl was referring to. "No. No, no, no. You wouldn't do that to me, would you?"

"Of course not!"

"Oh, thank goodness…"

"I want her to hear it from you, not from me. She's been waiting."

"Oh, I can't believe you, Helga! After all we've been through I thought we were finally friends and then you go right back to being old Helga Pataki! I - - " Gerald shouted, but then held his tongue. "Wait. What?"

"_She's been waiting._" Helga repeated, drawling every word slowly as if she was talking to a small child.

Gerald was staring at her in shock as her words processed in his mind. "Wait… Does… Phoebe feels the same?"

"Doi." Helga said as she rolled her eyes. "The way things are right now, you and Phoebe aren't going anywhere. You'll end up dead and buried and I see no chance of you getting any action unless Tim Burton is right about how our underworld works."

Gerald looked at Helga in confusion, but didn't get to ask her what she meant by the last comment until she flicked her finger against his forehead. "Ow." He muttered and looked at her as she headed back inside the cafeteria.

"Take my example. I'm going over to ask Arnold out right now." Helga said with a wink before closing the door behind her. _That was a nice speech, Helga, but, uh… are you really allowed to talk down to Gerald about this? It's not like you were the first one who made a move when it comes to Arnold_. She thought, but shrugged. _Oh, well. I'm the first one to actually ask him out. One small step at the time_.

Helga had already reached Arnold's table before she noticed he wasn't there. She looked around in confusion, but since he wasn't sitting anywhere else and his food was still there, she figured he hadn't left. She walked around the corner to where the food and drink machines were and finally saw him near a vending machine for hot drinks. With a smirk, the blonde started tiptoeing near him.

Helga barely managed to poke Arnold on the shoulder before he turned around, his cup hitting her hand. The blondes shrieked, one in surprise and the other in pain. Helga grabbed her hand with the other, the pain of something hot burning her hand until it turned red filling whole body.

"Helga!" Arnold scolded and tossed his cup into the trash can in order to take her hand in his. "What are you doing?!"

"Burning my hand, you dumbass! I thought I'd get you back for all the times you snuck up on me. Apparently, it's a talent dedicated to people with an oblong-head." Helga retorted as she hissed when he touched her hand. "I think it's ok though… it's mostly just my finger - - "

Helga didn't get to finish her sentence before Arnold ran off with her, his hand holding hers in a painful way, not because he was holding too tightly, but because he was holding around the burned area. Helga noticed the odd stares they got from their classmates and peers, but ignored them as they ran out of the cafeteria together. Arnold pulled Helga into the nearest bathroom and turned the faucet on. He put his own hand under the water first, confirming that it was cold before he shoved Helga's hand under it.

"Ow! Watch it!" the aggravated girl hissed at the stinging of the cold water forced on her hand.

"Sorry, sorry…" Arnold apologized as he gently caressed Helga's hand, moving the water around on the skin.

Helga rolled her eyes. _It's not a third degree burn, Arnold. It's not even second… maybe not even first_. She thought. "How hot was that fucking… whatever?"

"The vending machine has boiled water in it, Helga, and I was getting a cup of cocoa. It's getting really cold." Arnold explained.

"Yeah… Hey, speaking of cold; this water is freezing!"

"That's because you're so hot." Arnold pointed out, putting his other hand around Helga's burnt hand and using that to caress her as well.

"Why, thank you." Helga couldn't help but joke, earning the desired flushed cheeks from the blonde boy. She started to feel her own cheeks burning and she looked away shyly. _Why is this making me feel embarrassed all of a sudden? The boy has seen me half naked for crying out loud and now he just so happen to be holding my hand… Speaking of touching, I wonder how far we would have gone at the school dance if it that fire hadn't started…?_ She thought and then frowned._ Criminy, get your mind out of the gutter!_

"Helga!"

"What?!" Helga asked in shock and looked back at Arnold who was looking impatiently at her.

"What's gotten you thinking so hard you couldn't hear me?" he asked teasingly.

_When did you turn so observant?_ Helga thought and shrugged innocently. "Just thinking about that boat trip the class is going on tomorrow… I'm still not sure if I really wanna go."

"Why not? I think it sounds like it's going to be fun. We're lucky our teacher won those tickets; why wouldn't you wanna go?"

"I don't know. Cruises just aren't really my thing. I never got it, I guess. Who goes on a ship only to go on the ship? Ships are transportation, not vacation resorts."

Arnold chuckled. "Nevertheless; you should go. It's going to be fun, I promise."

"Oh, you promise? _You're_ gonna entertain me?" Helga asked with a smug smile. Arnold looked at her over his shoulder and she could see him smile as he shrugged innocently. She was surprised as she looked at his eyes. "Hey, Arnold… was that you or Dark Arnold?"

"Huh?"

"Well, I mean… I don't know. Since yesterday, it's been harder for me to determine which one of you is talking. Are you starting to accept your dark side?"

Arnold frowned at Helga's words and moved his eyes towards their hands again. "No, I doubt it. I don't care for my _dark_ side so accepting it seems unlikely…"

"Arnold, no one is perfect. Accept it and you can control it again."

"But by accepting it, it means I'll have to follow it from time to time, right?"

"Well, sure, but is that a bad thing? Is it a bad thing when I follow my good side?"

"Well, no, but - - "

"Your dark side has some actual backbone, Arnold. You should just accept it. I mean, I get where you're coming from. Frankly, I wasn't too sure what I thought about this new side of you in the beginning either…" Helga admitted and looked at Arnold's reflection in the mirror.

He lifted his head up and looked at her as well. "And…?"

"_And_…" Helga emphasized and smiled. "I decided it's just a much a part of you as everything else. I like that part as much as any other."

Arnold kept staring in Helga's eyes in the reflection until he finally turned to look at the real ones. She was looking back at him with a lopsided grin on her face. She could see what he wanted right then by the way he was trying to close his eyes and move closer, but he was obviously battling himself whether the timing was right or not. With a small chuckle, she moved her free hand to his shoulder and kissed him at the corner of his mouth. She heard him sigh into the kiss before he moved his lips so they were touching hers properly.

Arnold felt both of Helga's hands leave him and he opened his eyes again. She was smiling at him before she turned her back to him and grabbed some paper towels. She could feel him watching her as she dried each slender finger on her hand; it was almost embarrassing, but it was a good kind.

"Oh, by the way. Before I forget…" Helga said as she threw the paper towels out and turned to face Arnold. "I wanted to ask you out."

Arnold almost didn't hear her; he was more focused on the way she was standing right then. With her hand on her hips and her other hand placed casually near the sink, she looked like something belonging in a magazine even though she wore such casual, boyish clothes.

"Football Head." Helga said to get the daydreaming boy out of his reverie.

Arnold shook his head. "A-Ask me out? Really?"

"Yeah, unless you believe you should be the one to ask me?"

Arnold chuckled, even though his heart was still beating unbelievably fast due to Helga's words. "I don't care who asks who, Helga."

"I would hope not for your sake. So, you up for it? Just something casual and typical date-ish?"

"What is typical date-ish, Helga?" Arnold asked a little teasingly.

Helga moved her arms dramatically. "What'cha asking me for, Head Boy? I'm as new to this as you are." She pointed out as if she was angry, but started smiling. "A dinner and a movie?"

The grin on Arnold's face almost made Helga wonder if he could crack like a porcelain doll. "Sounds perfect, Helga." He said and she nodded. "Tonight at 7pm?"

"It won't be 7_am_, that's for sure." Helga retorted before heading towards the door. She could hear the short boy chuckle behind her and she waved before heading outside. She stood there in the empty hallway for a moment before she jumped ten feet into the air, pumping her fist happily. "Yes!" she yelled so loudly that she didn't hear the echo coming from inside the bathroom.

* * *

><p>When Helga had told Phoebe and Lila about her date plans for the evening, the girls has teamed up in front of her and decided together to help her get ready. Helga was starting to question her newly-born semi-friendship with Lila; she and Phoebe were almost scary together, which the blonde also told them once they were in her room.<p>

"Oh, relax, Helga. We aren't going to hurt you." Lila retorted at Helga's comment and opened her closet. "What do you think you'd like to wear for this ever so special night?"

Helga shrugged. "We're going out for a dinner and a movie; we agreed it would be casual… so _no_ dresses!"

Lila cooed in sorrow, but perked up right away when she saw a skirt hanging in the closet.

As soon as the redhead started reaching for it, Helga yelled. "No skirts!"

"You said no dresses."

"Skirts are basically the same thing. It's getting too cold to wear shit like that; I'm wearing jeans. End of debate." Helga insisted before plumbing down on her bed. She rolled around automatically and put her hand into her drawer, looking for something that had always been there. When her hand met nothing though, she remembered. Her expression grew glum and she felt frozen.

"Helga?" Phoebe asked quietly and sat down on the bed after confirming that Lila was still looking through Helga's clothes.

The blonde sighed and turned onto her back, showing Phoebe the empty drawer. She didn't have to say anything; her best friend understood what was on her mind. "It's gone…"

"Helga, look at this as a new beginning. You had given up on Arnold entirely and now you can fall back in love with him."

"I'd just wish I hadn't freaking _broken_ it. I wish I still had it."

"Everything that symbolized your love from Arnold back then is no more so you can start over. You're standing at the beginning with him; embrace the new Helga."

Helga frowned. "There's no new Helga or old Helga; there's just me." She insisted, but then sat up with a smile. "But thanks, Phoebs."

The two girls smiled at each other before Lila turned around, showing them the top she had just chosen. Helga recognized it instantly. "I'm not wearing that! Olga gave me that."

"_Olga_ gave you this?" Lila asked in surprise as she looked at it again. The top was hot pink and was a V-neck. There were thin straps over the shoulder, but still had a pair of long sleeves, which began about five inches below the straps, leaving the shoulders bare. It was a tad short around the stomach for Helga's taste, but it wasn't short enough to show her naval. "It doesn't seem like her style…"

"Some friend gave it to her for her birthday and Olga gave it to me." Helga explained. "I've never worn it."

"I think you should at least try it on. Just to see if it fits?"

"I _know_ it fits; Olga made me try it on when she gave it to me. Fits like a glove."

"Helga, please try it. I'd like to see you wearing it." Phoebe said and noticed that Helga was definitely not amused by the situation. The blonde girl sighed though, knowing she would have to cave in eventually and decided to cut that moment short. She stood up, grabbed the top and walked out of the room.

"You would think she wouldn't be embarrassed about undressing in front of me after last Tuesday." Lila muttered jokingly before sitting down next to Phoebe.

"What happened last Tuesday?" Phoebe asked in confusion.

"She didn't tell you?" Lila asked with an eyebrow quirked and Phoebe shook her head. Before Lila could start explaining though, Helga walked back into the room. She lifted her arms as if she was saying 'I told you it looks horrible', but the girls didn't agree with her. "Helga, you look ever so gorgeous in that!"

"You gotta be shitting me."

"Oh, no. I actually agree with Lila." Phoebe insisted and stood up. "And I know which pair of pants that would go with it." She added before heading towards the closet.

"I'm not wearing this." Helga insisted before looking at herself in a mirror. "Don't I look slutty?"

"You're ever so wrong! Helga, showing off a little shoulder and a little bosom does not make you look… _that_." Lila insisted, showing the clear discomfort she had with the word Helga had chosen.

"I'm showing a bit of stomach too though."

"One inch." Lila said, lifting her finger as if she was teaching her something valuable.

"Here they are!" Phoebe declared and showed Helga the pants she had in mind. It was Helga's only pair of leather pants, which had what looked like the claw mark of a tiger on the right thigh. A black belt with a row of white sequins on it was hanging around the waist.

"Yes!" Lila bellowed happily.

"No!" Helga bellowed unhappily and held her arms in front of her chest. "The top is enough, but if you make me wear those pants too, I will definitely look like I belong on the street."

"Helga, if any prostitutes could hear you now, they would laugh at you." Phoebe insisted, ignoring the way Lila held her ears to save herself from the words. "At least try them on."

With a sigh, Helga grabbed the pants and went outside.

Lila sighed in relief and looked at Phoebe. "Are you sure we should pressure her?" she asked as Phoebe sat back down. "She looks ever so uncomfortable with our choices."

"Trust me; Helga wants to wear these things. She's just stubborn and afraid to try something new. She thinks people will look at her differently if she does." Phoebe insisted.

Lila smiled. "Helga is lucky to have you to push her in the right direction."

"I'm not pushing her in the _right_ direction, Lila, I'm pushing her in the direction I know she wants to go." Phoebe insisted and Lila waved her hands in mock surrender. The girls laughed for a bit before Helga came back in, now wearing the leather pants with the hot pink top.

Lila started clapping. "You should really go with that." She insisted and the blonde seemed to consider it as she looked at her own reflection. Lila smiled knowingly at Phoebe who gave her a casual shrug. "Now to your hair!"

"Wait. I haven't made a decision yet." Helga insisted, but let Lila touch her hair anyhow.

"We have; you're wearing these clothes. Now, what should we do with your hair?" Lila asked and moved the blonde locks up into a ponytail.

"I think a ponytail might be good for this outfit." Phoebe said and was about to reach for a hairband, but heard Helga start talking.

"Actually, Arnold mentioned to me at the dance that he likes it better when it's down… e-even though he said that a ponytail suits me too."

"Really? But I thought you didn't like your hair when it was loose?" Phoebe asked curiously.

Helga shrugged. "I'm wild and free; why not let my hair be too?" she asked, a smile growing on her face as she remembered those words coming out of Arnold's mouth. She knew Phoebe and Lila were smiling giddily at each other, both figuring out why Helga seemed so happy all of a sudden.

"Whatever you say, Helga." Phoebe said jokingly and moved the blonde hair in front of the shoulders.

* * *

><p>To say that Helga had been nervous waiting outside the Kiska would be an understatement. She kept looking at her reflection in the glass between her and the ticket clerk until the young man's patience had run out and had insisted that she looks gorgeous. She stopped looking at her reflection then, feeling slightly more confident at his comment.<p>

Once Arnold had turned up, Helga decided that his reaction had been worth the discomfort she had been feeling until then. His jaw almost dropped to the floor and he could barely comprehend a single sentence until they were inside the auditorium. They had decided to watch the newest Evil Twin movie, both of them wondering aloud how many movies they could possibly make with the same plot. During the movie, they had chatted once in a while and had even started a small popcorn fight to the annoyance of some of the other people.

Once the movie was over, Arnold had taken Helga's hand as if it was the most natural thing in the world as they looked for a place to eat. They had found a small Italian bistro, sat down inside and the true date finally began. They talked about their childhood, about school and the upcoming cruise they were all going on. Helga had even admitted she couldn't believe all of this had happened within a week, whereas Arnold had responded that things escalated quickly. Helga had rolled her eyes at the comment, but had laughed as well.

Once the blondes had finished eating, they were starting to head home together. Their hands had naturally found each other again as they talked.

"So, you _are_ going on the cruise then?" Arnold asked.

Helga rolled her eyes. "Yes, for the fifth time already! I can see you really care, so I'll go, dammit. But you have a responsibility now. If I don't have fun on that cruise, it'll be on _your_ bill." She insisted.

Arnold chuckled. "What does that mean exactly? What will be my penalty?" he asked. Helga didn't answer, but simply wiggled her eyebrows teasingly, causing the short boy to chuckle once more. It was obvious he was starting to imagine what she could possibly do to him and Helga was about to ask him what he was thinking until a gust of wind caused her to shiver heavily. _Should have worn a jacket after all_. She thought and moved her free hand up to her mouth to blow some hot air on it.

"You cold?" Arnold asked as he stopped walking.

"No, I just like shaking while I blow air on my hands." Helga retorted before sticking her tongue out at him. He rolled his eyes kind-heartedly before letting go of her hand. "Removing your hand's warmth from mine isn't helping." She couldn't help but point out and noticed he was taking his own jacket off. _N-No way…_ She thought shyly even as he put the jacket over her shoulders. "You're kidding."

"No."

"This is too cheesy, Head Boy."

"You want me to take it back?"

"No, it's mine now." Helga answered as she tightened the jacket around her arms. _I'm wearing Arnold's jacket_… she thought and couldn't help but lift the sleeve and inhale its scent. She didn't care that Arnold was probably wondering if she had lost her mind; the scent of him was so evident in his jacket that she could have died happily right then. She looked back at him and to her surprise, all she saw on his face was slight surprise and shyness. She shrugged innocently before grabbing his hand and continuing their walk.

They were quiet for a while and Helga started to wonder if she had gone too far, but then Arnold broke the silence. "I really enjoyed this night." He said quietly in a shy tone.

Helga looked at Arnold in slight surprise and then smiled. "Me too. Really. Despite the bad movie."

"Yeah, I think they might be killing the series by now."

"They slaughtered it when they decided to throw Nicki Minaj in there as an evil space zombie. Want to agree that we'll watch something else for our next date?" Helga asked.

_Next date_. Arnold thought happily and nodded at her. "Yeah, I'd… like that." He answered and took a sudden interest at the way his feet were moving.

Helga quirked an eyebrow. "It's interesting." She stated and Arnold looked at her. "At the dance, you danced with me like we were the only people in the room, but with something this simple you get shy."

Arnold frowned slightly. "That was Dark Arnold's doing, not mine."

"But Dark Arnold is a part of you."

"Not a part that I like…" Arnold said. "I-I know you said just to accept it, but it's hard."

Helga stopped walking and turned to stand in front of Arnold. They were getting close to her house, but she didn't want to have this conversation on her doorstep. "What do you want to do right now?" she asked.

Arnold blinked in surprise. "Huh? W-Why do you ask?" he asked himself, his cheeks reddening at the intense way she was looking at him.

"Your dark side always does whatever you want. Doing what you want is not a bad thing, you know."

"But what if what I want is… uh…"

"Naughty?" Helga asked with a cocky smirk. Arnold choked at the word and turned his head away with his eyes shut tight. Maybe if he pretended he wasn't there, he'd eventually disappear? No such luck though since he suddenly felt hot air blown into his ear. He shrieked in surprise and held his free hand against his ear, looking at Helga in disbelief. "I'm just teasing you. You should be used to that." She said with a smirk before she continued walking.

Arnold followed Helga obediently, noticing that her house wasn't too far away by now. It'd be the end of their first date soon and he knew how he wanted the night to end, but also knew he didn't have the guts to try. _Typical. When I finally want my dark side to come out, he chickens out_. He thought in disbelief and growled in annoyance.

Helga heard the sound and stopped walking, causing Arnold to bump into her shoulder. He looked up at her, about to ask why she had stopped until she grabbed the front of his shirt. With a rough yank, she pulled him up to her until his lips touched hers. He choked in surprise, his eyes wider than teacups as he stared at her eyelids. He could feel his eyelids about to close when she let go of him. He almost stumbled, but managed to keep his balance by holding onto her hand.

Helga snickered at the baffled expression on Arnold's face as she removed his jacket from her shoulders and put it over his. "I'll see you tomorrow at the harbor, Football Head." She said, waved teasingly and then walked up her doorstep. Arnold stayed outside for a bit, moving his weight form one foot to another while he closed he pushed his arms through the jacket's sleeves. He looked towards where he figured Helga's window was and he felt his eyes sting as a smirk spread on his face. He walked towards the window and waited for the lights to get turned on.

Once he saw light in the room, Arnold grabbed a rock from the ground and threw it at the window. He didn't know this, but Helga had flinched when she heard the rock on her window. She was ready to give someone hell when she went to the window, but simply opened the window and stuck her head out when she saw it was Arnold.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" Helga asked in disbelief, the grin evident on her face.

"Stay there." Arnold said before heading towards the tree in the backyard.

"I'm not going anywhere, but… wait. Are you coming up here? Use the goddamn door!"

"That wouldn't be romantic, would it?" Arnold asked jokingly as he started climbing the tree.

"Neither is a trip to the hospital! What are you trying to do here; play knight saving the princess?"

Arnold looked at a branch, wrenched it off and then lifted it dramatically into the air. "I'm coming for you, my lady!" he stated jokingly. Helga almost choked in her own laughter. This whole scene was so stupid, weird, unexpected and oddly romantic.

"Have I ever told you that you're annoying?" Helga asked.

"I start to panic if I don't hear it at least once a day." Arnold replied casually as he held onto a thick branch that led towards Helga's room.

"Arnold, climb back. You're gonna fall… I'll punch you if you fall!"

"I'm not scared of you; I've developed a callus where you punch me on the arm by now!"

Helga rolled her eyes at Arnold's comment, but reached out her hand once he was close enough for her to grab him. He threw the stick away before taking her hand and jumping in through her window. He landed on top of her, practically straddling her on the floor. The blonde girl was laughing at his clumsy entrance, but he could see that she was also blushing a bit.

"Not my most graceful entry…" Arnold admitted a little bashfully, earning nothing but a nod on the head from the young woman underneath him. _Don't lose courage_. He ordered himself before lowering down towards her. She looked him in the eyes before closing hers and accepting his kiss with her hands on his cheeks. They could both feel their hearts beating harmoniously against the other's chests. Helga's only regret was that she couldn't more her legs properly. When she tried though and moved one of her legs upwards, she felt something bump against her thigh.

Arnold groaned in surprise and let go of Helga's mouth. It wasn't until then the blonde realized what her leg had just touched and she was on the brink of either giggling shyly or downright faint. It wasn't that she hadn't technically _felt it_ before, but this was a different situation. She rubbed against the hardness for a bit, earning some muffled moans from Arnold since he was holding them back.

Helga was about to tell him to open his mouth when she heard Bob's voice outside her door. "Helga, you on your way to bed?"

Both blondes on the floor froze and Helga sighed. "Uh, yeah, Bob. Why?"

"I just wanted to know if you were planning to leave your room or not." Bob replied from the other side.

Arnold looked at Helga questioningly as she cringed her face in obvious disgust. "What?" he asked.

Helga opened her eyes. "They're gonna have sex… He always checks on me before they go at it." She explained. Arnold cringed as well, feeling his arousal go down within a few seconds at the mere thought of Mr. and Mrs. Pataki in bed together.

"I'll stay right in here, Bob! I promise!" Helga shouted before motioning for Arnold to sit up. She could hear a hum of approval from her dad outside the door before his footsteps faded as he walked away. "And so the mood disappeared with him." Helga joked.

Arnold chuckled, kissed Helga once more and got up to the window. "I'll see you tomorrow, Helga." He said and waved.

"You'd better. If you break your leg you won't be going on the cruise and neither will I."

"Why won't you?"

"Because I'll be playing nurse with you, of course." Helga joked as she stood up from the floor to approach him. The blonde boy looked out of the window curiously, down towards the ground way far below them. "Don't you dare." The girl warned and he simply grinned before jumping towards the tree.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's 2<strong>**nd**** note: I am expecting this to be the last chapter for the year (oh, my God! xD) Especially since I have a book report there's due before New Year's eve. Yeah, we get homework for the holidays. I don't how many other countries does that, but Denmark does :P I wanted to get this chapter uploaded at the 28****th**** because **_**someone**_** mentioned to me this was their birthday! So happy birthday to you, you know who you are ;)**


	11. My alter ego

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned in this story.**

**They all belong to their rightful owner: Craig Bartlett.**

**Title: "Alter ego"**

**In the last chapter:**_** After the nude model incident the day before, Arnold and Helga spent most of the next day casting glimpses at each other, none of them truly daring to approach the other. After some coaxing from Phoebe and Lila though, Helga decided it was time to ask Arnold out. She decided to push Gerald towards Phoebe first though, telling him that Phoebe felt the same way about him.**_

_**What should have been a regular asking out turned into an accident when Arnold spilled his hot cocoa on Helga's hand. In the meantime though, Helga managed to ease Arnold's mind about his dark side and ask him out.**_

_**The date was a success and ended with Arnold not only convincing Helga to join the rest of the class on the cruise they were going on, but with a passionate kiss that held promises for their upcoming trip.**_

**Author's 1****st**** note: Happy new year! Not particularly a new year's eve themed chapter, but it's a new beginning still xD Hope you all had fun celebrating the new year and that you're looking forward to the next year in your lives :3**

**[Please notify me if you notice any grammar mistakes. This isn't my first language, so there's bound to be mistakes.]**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 11: "My alter ego"<span>

Helga shivered as she gave a groan. "When are we getting on the damn ship?!" she complained and stuck close to Phoebe who rubbed the taller girl's arm.

"Patience, Helga. It should only be a minute now." The teacher answered tolerantly.

The blonde simply groaned again, still standing close to Phoebe and gave heat the same way she received. _When did it turn this fucking cold?_ She wondered and blew some air into the palms of her hands. She rubbed them together as she looked towards Arnold who was talking with some of the boys. She smiled a little and looked at Phoebe. "I think Arnold and I are getting somewhere."

At the whisper, Phoebe felt goose bumps down her spine and looked at Helga with a frown. "Don't whisper in my ear; it tickles!" she said, rubbed her ear and then looked back at her. "What do you mean; getting somewhere?"

"I _mean_ Arnold was actually in my room last night."

Phoebe went bug-eyed. "Helga… did you two…?"

"No, no. Bob ruined the mood… but I swear, Phoebs, if he hadn't, I think we might have."

"You think something will happen on the cruise?"

"I'd love that, but I'm not sure how. It depends on our roommates for the cabins, I guess. I mean, if Rhonda is going to be my roommate, there's no chance in hell I can get her out of the cabin long enough to bring Arnold in there."

"So?" Phoebe asked even though she knew what Helga was plotting.

The blonde smirked at her. "Let's plot how to become roommates."

"Plotting!" the shorter girl responded cheerfully and started thinking. While she did that, Helga looked towards Arnold again. Her eyes fell on Gerald and she hummed.

"Phoebe, has Gerald said anything to you since yesterday?"

"Huh? Oh, no. Why?"

"No reason…" Helga insisted and shot a scowl in Gerald's direction. As if he could feel her eyes burning holes into his body, he turned his head and looked at her. The blonde bopped her head in Phoebe's direction without the girl noticing.

Gerald flinched in discomfort and ignored the girl's silent order. He sighed and looked at Arnold. "Arnold, how did your date go yesterday?" he asked. The boys all nodded, clearly liking the new subject.

Arnold smiled as he scratched his cheek awkwardly. "It went… well." He replied casually, clearly to the dissatisfaction of his hormone-filled friends.

"Oh, come on, Arnold! There's gotta be more than _well_." Harold insisted.

"_Well_…" Arnold emphasized and shot Helga a quick glance, confirming that she wasn't listening. He grinned at the boys. "I think I like her more than I did before. Helga's a lot more fun now. It's like she's letting her guard down because she knows I like her. I wish I had confessed to her sooner."

"You didn't confess shit, _I_ did." Gerald insisted and Arnold rolled his eyes, nodding in agreement. "So, are you planning anything for the cruise?"

"I said to Helga I'd entertain her if she came along, but I'm actually not sure what I'm supposed to do."

"I know what I'd do." Sid said before thrusting his hips a couple of times, earning a laugh from the other boys.

Arnold just blushed. He put a hand over his face, looking in the girls' direction again. Some of the girls had heard Sid and were rolling their eyes or sticking their tongues out in disgust. Helga though didn't seem like she was listening. She and Phoebe were chatting about something secretively. He got curious, but the boys caught his attention once more.

"Are you telling me you're not planning to at least get to second base? You've seen them; isn't it time to touch them?" Harold joked.

Arnold felt his eyes burn as he rolled them. "I've touched them already." He said as images from the school dance flooded through his mind. _"I want to be inside you so badly",_ he heard his own voice say and he blushed heavily before hiding his face. _I can't believe I said that! Well, it was true, but still…_

"What?! When?" Sid bellowed, obviously unhappy with not having heard this piece of information before.

The boys all closed in on Arnold as he stepped back. "At the school dance… before the fire."

"So that's where you went!" the boys bellowed loudly and Arnold had to hush them. All the girls were staring at them at this point, even Helga and Phoebe. Arnold tried to shrug innocently in Helga's direction, but she still quirked an eyebrow at their odd behavior.

"Shh." Arnold said to the boys and pointed at them. "Guys, _shh_."

The boys didn't go quiet until the teacher asked them to as well. "All right, everybody. We're about to go on the ship, so I'm going to give you the cards for your cabins." She said and started handing them out. "Please stand next to the person you want to share a cabin with. Girls with girls and boys with boys."

The boys bellowed unhappily, but jokingly while a few of the girls did the same, Helga being one of them. She and Arnold locked eyes for a moment, both smiling knowingly. _Good thing we can choose our own roommate._ The female blonde thought.

Phoebe grabbed Helga's hand and lifted it into the air. "We're sharing!" she yelled at the same time Gerald said the same about Arnold. Both blondes looked at their best friends, questioning why they seemed so excited about sharing cabins with them even though Helga had a faint idea why.

* * *

><p>Once they all had gone on board and unpacked their things in the cabins, the ship started sailing. Most of the people from the class had decided to join each other for lunch on the fifth deck where the Italian bistro called <em>Little Italy<em> was. Helga and Phoebe were walking together with Nadine and Rhonda when the ship started swaying.

"Ok, this is ridiculous." Helga stated as she grabbed ahold of the corner on a wall. She could barely stand straight and she heard Nadine groaning before she hit the wall behind her. "Why is this ship rocking so fucking much?"

"Watch your mouth, Helga." Rhonda warned, walking as graciously as she could despite feeling dizzy and a little seasick from all the movement.

"Don't tell me what to do." Helga growled before pushing the button to the elevator. The girls went inside and sighed in relief when the ship finally seemed to stay still. "This is ridiculous." Helga stated once more before the walked outside.

The ship was swaying again and it took the girls by surprise this time. While Phoebe and Nadine managed to grab ahold of something sturdy, Helga tumbled backwards into Rhonda who hit the closed elevator doors behind her.

"Watch where you're going!"

"What's that gonna help, princess?" Helga asked sarcastically, motioned herself upwards and continued to follow Phoebe and Nadine.

The girls finally saw some familiar faces and Nadine waved at the boys. "You just as dizzy as we are?" she asked jokingly, earning a few head nods.

"Can we grab a table as far away from a window as possible?" Luka asked hopefully, looking more than a little seasick.

"No! I want a window seat!" Rhonda insisted and plumbed into the nearest booth. "This is perfect. Sit down."

_What about this situation is perfect?_ Helga wondered sarcastically before grabbing ahold of the booth. Before she could sit down though a particularly hard wave knocked her backwards. She could hear someone groan behind her and she lifted her head to look who it was. "Oh, perfect." She stated sarcastically.

Luka scowled as well. "Of all the people who could have bumped into me, it had to be the girl with the iron fists." He mumbled in dissatisfaction.

"Hey, you weren't exactly my first choice either, bucko." Helga retorted before seeing a hand in front of her. She smiled at the way Arnold was frowning in Luka's direction as she took his hand and let him help her up.

"Don't look at _me_, Arnold. It was the wave that did it, not me." Luka said with a sulk before almost jumping into the booth due to another wave. The wave made Arnold stumble as well and he and Helga ended inside a different booth. Helga landed on top of him on the two-seat couch in the booth and Arnold grabbed ahold of the table before they fell under that too.

"Get a room!" Sid joked before sitting into the booth with the others.

Arnold blushed a bit before moving upwards and helping Helga stand up again. With some difficulty, they all managed to sit down, but that didn't stop the waves.

"How are we supposed to eat like this?" Rhonda asked in a complaining tone before almost hitting the big square window with her face.

"I guess we have to hold onto our plates." Luka suggested before tumbling into Rhonda. She smiled at the proximity, but Luka was quick to pull himself away.

* * *

><p>Once the food arrived, the teenagers did indeed have to hold onto their plates so the food didn't spill on the table or the floor. While Arnold regretted ordering spaghetti, Helga thanked the lucky stars she had been smart enough to order pizza. The somewhat chewy crust helped the pizza stay on the plate, making it that much easier for her to keep her food in check.<p>

Once they were all done, they decided to explore the ship. It had about nine decks, all with some sort of entertainment on each. On their way though, Gerald decided he was going to need help if he wanted to get Arnold and Helga alone together on this cruise. When the time was right, he grabbed Phoebe's mouth to keep her quiet. She shrieked, not knowing it was him at first, but then looked at him. He signed for her to be quiet before he let go of her mouth and grabbed her hand. She followed him confusedly, but obediently.

"What are you doing?" Phoebe asked with a somewhat high-pitched voice once she and Gerald were away from the others.

"We need to help Arnold and Helga." Gerald explained as he turned to look at her.

She frowned in confusion. "How so?"

"Look. Who knows if they're ever gonna get anywhere back in Hillwood? Helga lives with her parents and despite Bob not having that much interest in her, I don't think he'd be very keen on the idea of her having a boy in her room. Arnold's home is a madhouse, there's no way they're ever gonna have any privacy there. This is basically a one in a lifetime opportunity for those two so I'm gonna help them. What do you say?"

Phoebe smiled in confusion. "Well, yes, of course I want to help Helga too, but what are we supposed to do?"

Gerald grinned mischievously. "We switch the cards."

A grin like Gerald's spread on Phoebe's face. "If I switch my card with Arnold's, he'll end up in Helga's room instead of me…" she stated and laughed. "Perfect! Let's do it."

Once the plan was scheduled all there was left to do was get ahold of Arnold's card without him finding out. Phoebe suggested simply telling him about the plan as well, but Gerald had insisted to surprise the blondes; it'd be more amusing that way and Phoebe couldn't argue against that. Since Arnold was a dense boy, grabbing his card at the right time wasn't hard, especially not with the waves throwing them all around like lotto balls. At the right time, Phoebe managed to switch her own card with Arnold's and she headed back to Gerald to show the fruit of their labor.

"Awesome, Phoebs. Now we just have to wait until we're all going to bed and then we'll hear their stories in the morning." Gerald said and patted Phoebe's head as a way of praising her. She almost blushed at the motion, but kept it down. She looked at her new card, the card that had the same number as Gerald's did.

Then she realized something. "Gerald?"

"Yeah?"

"Now that Arnold is going to be Helga's bunkmate…" she said quietly, still processing the new information in her mind. Gerald looked at her, waiting for her to continue her sentence. "Doesn't that mean… that we're going to have to sleep in the same cabin?"

Gerald's eyes widened and if his dark skin would have allowed it, he would have blushed heavily. _Oh, shit_.

* * *

><p>Arnold was looking at his room card in confusion. He had been sure he and Gerald had gone to the second deck, but this card told him to go to the first. Once they had all explored the ship, they agreed to go clubbing. The club had a dress code so they had all gone back to get redressed, but Arnold had missed Gerald somewhere along the way and had to find his way back himself. That should have been easy, but something told him he must be needing glasses, because this wasn't the same hallway he had been in before when he, together with Gerald, had placed their baggage casually in the cabin.<p>

Arnold shrugged once he was in front of the room his card told him was his and moved the card inside. He walked inside, closing the door behind him and then heard some ruffling. He was about to ask Gerald why he had run off so quickly, when he saw some blonde hair fall down a creamy back. "Helga?!"

The blonde girl jumped at the sudden voice behind her and turned to look who had entered. "Arnold?" she questioned in surprise and looked down at herself. She was standing in front of him, wearing only a pair of red panties and bra. Her instinct told her to cover herself up, but her brain told her that would be ridiculous at this point, so she simply crossed her arms, seemingly casually. "W-What are you doing in here?"

"What are _you_ doing here? Isn't this Gerald's and my room?" Arnold asked and looked at his card.

"What? No. Phoebe and I are sharing this one." Helga insisted and moved towards him to look at the card.

Arnold ignored the way his heart was throbbing at the fact that an almost naked Helga was standing next to him… alone… in a cabin. "This card worked for your room though…"

Helga frowned thoughtfully and then growled. "Phoebe."

"Gerald." Arnold had realized at the same time, but looked at Helga in confusion which she mirrored. "Wait. Phoebe? Are you sure she'd do this?"

Helga grabbed the card out of his hand. "This is _her_ card. Gerald may have given her the idea, but she was the one who switched your cards around." She said before giving it back to him and walking back towards porthole. She sat down on the fold-out bed with a small sigh. _Typical Phoebe._ She thought and couldn't help but snicker.

Arnold gazed at Helga as an idle sunbeam seemed to strike the window behind her, haloing her with a perfect romantic glow. He shook his head and forced his eyes away before his gaze would travel any further down her body.

The attractive blonde girl saw that he shook his head and stood up from her bed again. "I'm guessing this is a hint." She said as she moved towards Arnold. He looked at her, wondering if she was about to do what he thought and hoped. She moved as close to him as possible before she moved her hand over his shoulder. He moved back a bit, watching her as she looked past him and grabbed some black fabric. "Too bad we have to go that dumbass club first…"

Arnold looked as Helga moved the black fabric over her head. What he suddenly realized was a dress slithered down her body, embracing every curve as it fell perfectly around her. She moved her hair over the dress and looked at him with a pair of eyes that left him breathless. She caressed her nose with his, still looking intensely at him as their lips touched gently.

With a sigh, Arnold closed his eyes and pushed his lips firmly against Helga's. Oh, how he hated they had to go to that stupid club; he'd rather stay here and just hold her more than anything. His hands moved to her back, pulling her against him as her arms went over his shoulders to do the same.

As soon as she did though, she moved away with a groan. "We have to at least make an appearance."

Arnold groaned as well and automatically looked further into the cabin. He frowned at the sight of a certain bag lying on the other bed. "That's _my_ bag…" he stated.

Helga looked towards it. "I gotta give it to those little sneaks; they must have changed it all around at some point." She said before bopping her head towards it. "You'd better get changed too." She pointed out and went inside the midget-sized bathroom.

As Arnold listened to the sound of water dripping out of the faucet from inside the bathroom, he blushed a little at the thought of changing in the room just next to Helga, but he moved towards his bag anyway. As Helga's words about how they just had to make an appearance echoed in his mind, he decided just to change his t-shirt into a dress shirt. As soon as his t-shirt was off his body, he heard the door behind him open and Helga appeared behind him.

She stared at him, not in surprise, but in awe. "Whoa." She stated simply, crossed her arms and leaned against the door. Arnold blushed and tried to ignore her gaze as he started buttoning his dress shirt.

He heard Helga chuckle behind him before approaching him. "A little shaky, aren't we?" she teased before swatting his hands away and starting to button his shirt herself.

Her fingers touched his skin from time to time and he knew she was doing it on purpose. It sent shivers down his entire body whenever she did and once his shirt was fully buttoned, he moved to kiss her again. She moaned in his mouth, her hands dragging down his chest and stomach, showing him how much she wanted him too.

"Appearance." Helga reminded him though and Arnold moved away reluctantly. She smiled at him, happy to see how desperate he was for her. She kissed him one last time before grabbing his hand and pulling him with her out of the cabin.

At their way to the club, their hands never left the other's. Once they were in the elevator, Arnold could feel Helga's thumb caressing his skin and he kissed her cheek. With a moan, she moved her lips towards his and kissed him along his jaw. His free hand went to her neck and he kissed her on her ear, biting her lobe.

A cough interrupted them and the two blondes moved away from each other awkwardly, smiling politely at the older couple that had caught them in the elevator as they walked out. They chuckled at each other before opening the door to the club. The place was dark, only lit up with purple neon and candles on the small round tables around in the room. Near the far end was a stage with a band currently playing and next to the door was a bar.

"There you are!" Gerald declared loudly when he noticed the blondes entering. "Can I get you anything?"

The blondes didn't have to look at each other to confirm that their answer was no. If they ordered anything they had to stick around long enough to finish their drinks and neither one of them had that much patience.

Gerald smirked at them, obviously aware of the reason to the declination. "Do you like my surprise?" he asked as he wiggled his eyebrows.

"If it wasn't because I was so utterly devoted to Arnold, I could kiss you." Helga replied jokingly, kissing Arnold's hand for good effect. The blonde boy sighed as he nodded in agreement.

"Well then! Go out, dance for ten seconds and then you can do whatever you want." Gerald retorted with a wink and headed towards Phoebe who was waving at them.

"Hold on. Doesn't this mean Gerald and Phoebe are going to bed sleeping together?" Helga asked as she and Arnold moved towards the dance floor, smiling at their classmates whenever they got eye contact.

"I guess so." Arnold said and smirked at Helga, moving his mouth towards her to whisper in her ear. "I wonder if that's just a hidden bonus for them or if they were planning that all along."

Helga shrugged at Arnold's suggestion before moving her arms over his shoulders, her hips pushing against his as they swayed. "Ten seconds was it?" she asked with a smile as her fingers dug into his neck and eventually went into his hair.

Arnold groaned before moving his mouth to her neck, licking it hungrily. "I don't think I can wait that long."

"Me neither." She admitted and bit onto his lobe before her tongue licked the shell of his ear. "How long has it been?"

"About one second." Arnold sighed in her ear.

"That's enough isn't it?"

"Yeah, it only needs like a zero." He stated huskily. "That counts as an appearance."

"Hell yeah." Helga replied before grabbing Arnold's hand and moving away from the dance floor again. She could hear some of their peers asking them where they were going already, but both blondes ignored them as they jogged out of the club and back towards the elevator.

Once they were inside and heard the doors close behind them, Arnold swung Helga around. She squealed in surprise when she felt the wall hit her back, but giggled softly before accepting Arnold's kiss. His hands roamed over her hips, traveling up towards her breasts, but never truly touching them. She groaned impatiently as she opened the few top buttons on his dress shirt.

Once again, a cough interrupted the two. This time, they didn't bother to look apologetically at whoever had caught them; they simply ran outside together as fast as their legs could carry them. Arnold was the first to get his card out of his pocket, so Helga didn't bother taking out hers. As he fumbled with the card on the lock, she pressed against him, her hands fumbling with his belt in the meantime.

Helga managed to get Arnold's belt off just as he got the door open. He turned around, kissing her and pulling her inside the cabin. He didn't see it, but he could hear her closing the door and since her hands were on his chest, he assumed she must have closed it with her foot.

To Arnold's dismay, Helga suddenly let go of him, taking her intoxicating lips away from him. He saw how she pulled her dress off over her head and he tried to open the last few buttons on his dress shirt, but barely opened two before her hands took over and got it ripped open within a second.

Helga might have seemed like the more impatient one, but it wasn't like Arnold wasn't desperate to feel her skin against his as soon as possible too; he just didn't like not to have her mouth pressed against his long enough to get any undressing done. So while Helga continued with his pants, he kissed her neck, licking the taut skin on her collarbone. When he leaned down and felt fabric against his mouth, his hands went to her back, trying to find the clasp that was holding the fabric over her breasts.

The impatient boy wasn't sure whether the girl he was touching had helped him removing the bra or not, but it came off quickly and his hands went to her breasts, squeezing them tightly, eliciting a passionate moan from the girl above him. His mouth found a hardened nipple and he suckled on it, earning the possibly highest moan the owner of it had ever made.

Helga's hands pulled Arnold's pants down and he felt his boxers leaving with them as he grabbed her panties and pulled them down as well. Together, they used their feet to kick the clothing away and once he felt the fabric leave his ankles, Arnold let himself fall backwards on the fold-out bed, pulling Helga down with him. She straddled him, his hands helping her sit comfortably on his lap and he heard her groan again when their sexes touched.

It was as if time suddenly stood still; this small touch made them realize how real this was. They smiled at each other in content, Helga moving slowly down to peck Arnold's lips tenderly in contrast to their former desperate kisses. Her hands found his and they tangled their fingers together as they ground their hips against each other's, earning muffled and sloppy moans from the other.

"I don't have the patience." Helga told Arnold when she felt his hand on her inner thigh, which she assumed had been on its way towards her sex. He simply nodded at her, deciding he didn't have it in him to fight against her even though the logical part of his brain told him being impatient was very ungentlemanly.

Helga sat up on Arnold's lap and he gulped at the sight of her naked form. He had been so obsessed with feeling her that he hadn't been looking at her. She was perfection in its purest form and he grinned boyishly. She smiled back at him shyly before biting on her lower lip nervously.

They both looked down at their hips as Helga gently grabbed Arnold's pulsating flesh. He gulped again at her somewhat cold fingers that sent an electrical shiver down his spine. When he felt his smaller head touch something warm, moist and foreign, his hands went to her thighs encouragingly. She took a deep breath and then moved downwards, hissing at the stinging pain she felt. She forced a pained cry down as she moved all the way down until there was nothing more to take in.

Helga was cursing silently as she looked at Arnold. Her vision was blurred and she could barely see him, but she felt him grab her hands and pulling her down towards him. He held her gently, kissing her around her face soothingly. She chuckled at the weird feeling of being in pain and yet feeling so loved as she let him shower her with kisses.

Helga moved her hips experimentally, her thighs shaking when the pain came back for a mere second due to the motion. She rolled around, subconsciously deciding to take all the pain in one go rather than a bit at a time. She could feel Arnold's hands holding her desperately, but he stayed still besides that, letting her choose the speed. She made a solemn vow to thank him for that later as she moved to sit up again. Her hands caressed his chest lovingly, smiling at him before moving upwards and then down again. His arms tensed, his dull nails digging into her thighs in passion, but he stayed still, ignoring the carnal desire to thrust his hips.

Helga made same motion a little slower, watching Arnold's face twitch in restrained need and she moved again, starting a slow rhythm. She put her hands atop of his which were still on her thighs. The blur in her vision slowly disappeared as she blinked and she could see him clearly again as the pain disappeared and pleasure took over.

At Helga's first moan, Arnold let himself moan as well. He had held his voice back until then, but now he dared show and let her hear what she was doing to him. He considered pulling her down to him again; his lips were itching to kiss her skin again, but he decided to sit up instead. She gasped as he moved inside of her, his hands pushing her encouragingly on her back as he licked her throat hungrily. Her fingers got tangled in his hair and she caressed his scalp as he slowly started to thrust back inside her.

Helga leaned back as far as she could. Her hands holding onto his arms, which were holding her as well, were the only things eventually holding her up. She moved her legs so she weren't sitting on her knees anymore, sighing in relief when she could move against him. Her legs tightened around him frantically, desperate to feel more of that friction he was giving her. She tightened around him, groaning at how much more she could feel of him and did it again.

Arnold's hands on Helga's waist were starting to shake. He hated himself for it, but he recognized the feeling of something coiling in his stomach and he looked at Helga, hoping to get the message across without having to say it. He wasn't sure if she understood or not, but her hands went to his cheeks and she pulled him in for a kiss. He kissed her desperately, trying to keep his voice down as he came inside her. He kept thrusting erratically until he fell backwards, completely exhausted.

Arnold could feel his skin prickling from Helga kissing him sweetly across his chest and throat. He moved his hand into his hair, doing his best to reciprocate the small touches even though his hand was still shaking. He felt Helga shift before the tight heat around him disappeared and he shivered from the sudden cold. He turned his head to the side, smiling at Helga who smiled back at him.

"I wonder… if the cleaning staff is… going to hate us." Arnold stated, panting almost every word.

Helga chuckled breathlessly. "They should have stayed in school then."

"Helga!" Arnold scolded in surprise.

She turned to look at him. "What?"

He looked at her in disbelief. "Rude." He said, as if he was reminding of something.

She sat up on her elbows, quirking an eyebrow at him. "You're calling the girl you just fucked _rude_?" she asked.

Arnold blinked a couple of times before grabbing her and embraced her in his arms. "Point taken." He said in surrender and she chuckled before she kissed his nose.

They stayed still for what felt like a long time before Arnold heard Helga whisper his name. He hummed, telling her he had heard her. She grabbed the blanket and pulled it over them before she turned onto her stomach, using her arms as a pillow.

"I just want to make something clear." Helga said uncharacteristically seriously. Arnold gulped and turned onto his side so he could see her properly, waiting for her to say whatever she had to say. "I love you." She said first, taking a small pause to let him process those words first. "I've always loved you and I think… I think, thanks to Madame Blanche, I now love you even more because I know you have flaws… My whole life I've put you up on a pedestal no person could possibly live up to, but not anymore." She smiled. "I will love you unconditionally, Arnold Shortman. Flaws and all."

Arnold just stared at Helga. He could feel something building up inside him or more like something was disappearing. All the worry he had felt for more than a week, all the insecurity and all the questions he had asked himself seemed so unnecessary now. Suddenly, his eyes burnt for a mere moment as what felt like a clasp around his heart unclenched and he inhaled sharply.

Helga put a hand on his shoulder, shaking him a bit. "A-Arnold, are you ok?" she asked.

He moved his hand up to his heart, blinking until his eyes felt normal again and then nodded. "Yeah…" he whispered and looked at her. She was still looking at him worriedly so he smiled at her as he put his hand on her cheek. "More than ok." He stated before surprising her with a deep kiss.

Helga wasn't sure what had just happened, but something told her that would be the last time she'd see the magical shine in Arnold's green eyes. She smiled before he pulled her on top of him. She chuckled happily, feeling so giddy that she couldn't contain herself. Her laugh stopped sharply when she felt something poke her from behind and she looked at Arnold in slight disbelief.

Arnold shrugged innocently. "Can we blame that on my dark side?" he asked with a smirk as he nuzzled his nose against hers.

She laughed breathlessly. "Sure…" she said sarcastically. "Your alter ego is all to blame."

**The end**

* * *

><p><strong>Arthur's 2<strong>**nd**** note: And it's done! I have to admit, it feels a little weird to finish yet **_**another**_** project, but *sigh* I guess it's always going to feel like you're sending a kid off into the world whenever this happens xD I hope you all enjoyed and I thank you for reading my story till the very end. If you liked this, please consider reading my former projects and perhaps the new long project coming up. I won't reveal anything about the upcoming project, but I can say this much: If smut is your thing, my next project will be your thing too ;)**


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